The Formula 1 paddock at the Singapore Grand Prix features a fascinating tactical twist within the Mercedes garage. George Russell has opted against running the theoretically faster major aerodynamic upgrade package at Marina Bay, a move that was actually first suggested by the British driver himself.
This strategic split comes in the wake of Russell's retirement in Malaysia, which guarantees him a grid penalty this weekend for engine component changes. Beyond the power unit penalties, Russell's machine has been rolled back to the aerodynamic specification used prior to the upgrade's introduction last weekend, while his team-mate Kimi Antonelli continues with the new parts.
Following a confusing debut for the new parts in Sepang, Mercedes left the door open to splitting its drivers across old and new packages for Singapore. However, on Thursday, George Russell revealed that he had instigated the conversation prior to the race on Sunday in Malaysia.
"So when the failure happened, it was kind of a no-brainer because we were kind of 50-50 about it pre-race, and I was more in favour to do it, and that was even pre-race, whereas now, it is a total no-brainer," George Russell added when detailing the thought process behind the technical split.
Singapore represents a crucial weekend for Mercedes to truly understand its latest upgrade package—the team's first major development since the Canadian Grand Prix in May. While telemetry data suggests the parts are working as expected, the team was convincingly outperformed by Red Bull during the Malaysian weekend.
"There's no signs telling us the upgrade was not working and we know the car we had in Baku was the same car as we had in Budapest and Zandvoort and in Baku we were on pole by eight tenths and in Budapest we were four tenths off the pace," George Russell explained regarding the car's fluctuating performance characteristics.
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