Russell to take grid penalty in Singapore due to Sepang retirement

George Russell is set to receive a grid penalty for this weekend’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix as a consequence of his retirement in Sepang last weekend.

The Mercedes driver was running third under the safety car with five laps remaining until he stopped at the Turn 1 entry due to a sudden failure in his power unit.

It means he needs a new engine for Marina Bay and, because he’s already churned through four power units in the 2026 season, any additional changes will incur a 10-place grid penalty.

That is what will happen this weekend, The Athletic has reported, and with the Singapore street circuit being notoriously difficult to overtake on, starting towards the back will make it incredibly difficult for Russell.

That does not do his title hopes any good because he heads into the weekend 84 points behind his championship-leading team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who in September had a similar penalty at Monza.

But the 20-year-old sensation overcame that in the most impressive ways, by winning his home Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid - overtaking Russell on his way to victory.

It shows that churning through power units has been an issue for Mercedes amid an otherwise dominant year, with the Silver Arrows suffering unreliability on several occasions.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan

Antonelli, for example, suffered an engine failure late in the Barcelona race, while a power unit problem forced Russell to retire from the lead in Montreal - similarly to Sepang.

So this forthcoming grid drop of his was long expected, but it is understood that Mercedes was hoping to do it later in the year - most likely Austin, the race after Singapore.

That’s because it has been granted one upgrade token under the new-for-2026 Additional Upgrades and Opportunities System (ADUO), which it is soon expected to fit.

Russell and Mercedes were therefore hoping to take the penalty on the weekend the ADUO engine gets fitted, but because that is no longer on the cards, he may miss out altogether.

This is something deputy team principal Bradley Lord confirmed could be the case following the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

“He came on the radio behind the safety car and said 'PU's starting to sound funny',” said Lord.

“We saw sensors then misbehaving and it was clear we had to pull the car over and we'd had a failure of some sort.

“Still need to understand what it means for his pool because he's not rich in low-mileage power units either. So that may mean we need to alter what had been our previous plan.”