George Russell: "No-brainer" to run previous car as Mercedes splits specifications for Singapore
Motorsport.com • • sports
Key Points:
- Mercedes will run its W17 Formula 1 cars in split specifications at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli using the Sepang update package and George Russell reverting to the previous spec used in Baku.
- The team introduced a new floor and bodywork package at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, but struggled to fully understand its performance due to the rough track surface and high temperatures in Sepang.
- Russell supports the split-spec approach, especially as he faces a grid penalty in Singapore, and believes the Sepang package's underperformance was specific to that track's unique conditions.
- Antonelli is committed to running the new package throughout the weekend, confident that it will show performance gains in Singapore's cooler temperatures and smoother tarmac, viewing Sepang as an outlier event.
- Mercedes aims to use the Singapore weekend to better evaluate the new upgrades by comparing the two car specifications directly in race conditions.
