George Russell Shines with Older Mercedes Spec in Singapore Sprint Qualifying

George Russell found himself in familiar territory during the Sprint Qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, as he took second place behind Max Verstappen. This was a welcome return to form for the Mercedes driver, who had faced disappointment with a late-race retirement in Bahrain.

In a strategic move, Mercedes decided to split their car setups for the Singapore weekend. Russell was put back in the older-spec car, the same one he used to clinch pole and victory in Baku earlier this season. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, continued with the newer upgrades. This decision paid off for Russell, who qualified P2 while Antonelli struggled to seventh, trailing by more than half a second.

Reflecting on his performance, Russell noted, "We've seemed competitive all day, to be honest, from the first laps in FP1 – we obviously topped the timesheets there." He acknowledged Verstappen's pace and different Q3 strategy, but was pleased with his own result.

Russell commented on the car specifications, saying, "I can definitely confirm the old one is not bad!" He added that while the team hasn't concluded that the new upgrades are ineffective, the stopwatch hasn't been kind to them yet.

Looking ahead to the Sprint race, Russell admitted that starting from P2, his chances of overtaking Verstappen at the start are slim, especially given the grip differences on the grid. "It’s going to be very challenging," he said, noting the advantage the pole side had last year.

Russell also pointed out that Verstappen was under investigation for yellow flags, leaving a slight opening for potential grid adjustments.

Despite the challenges, Russell's performance in the Sprint Qualifying with the old-spec car provides Mercedes with valuable data and a glimmer of hope as they continue to evaluate their upgrade path.