GEORGE RUSSELL TO START SINGAPORE GP FROM BACK OF GRID AFTER FRESH PENALTY

George Russell's already slim title hopes appear fainter after a back-of-the-grid penalty was confirmed by Mercedes.

© XPB Images

George Russell is to start this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid after his costly power unit failure in the Bahrain GP. 

Behind the safety car in Sepang, Russell pulled the Mercedes off to the side of the track with a power unit failure - the second of the season to strike the Briton following the Canadian GP. 

Russell was already set to take one grid penalty in the closing stages of the season when Mercedes introduced its ADUO-boosted engine upgrade, believed to be in the United States GP in Austin. 

A team spokesman has confirmed to RacingNews365 that Russell will be taking a new power unit in Singapore - and will incur the back-of-the-grid penalty. 

At this stage, it is still to be confirmed if the ADUO-boosted engine could be fast-tracked into the W17 for Russell or if this new power unit he will take will be of the current specification. 

If the ADUO-boosted engine is brought into Russell's pool, it would negate the need for a "double whammy" penalty of Russell taking a back-of-the-grid start for his old-spec engine, and then taking another such penalty for the ADUO upgrade.

Russell's penalty will be served in the grand prix itself on Sunday and not during the Sprint race, where he will start where he qualifies, save any in-weekend penalties for himself or other drivers, which either demote or promote him, respectively.

Team-mate Kimi Antonelli took his own batch of fresh components at the Italian GP, storming from 19th on the grid to win, although overtaking on the streets of Marina Bay is a far tougher prospect.

Following the power unit failure in Sepang, coupled with Antonelli scoring 18 points for second place, the points gap between the Mercedes team-mates opened to 84. 

Antonelli cannot win the title in Singapore, with 150 points remaining after the weekend, but if he were to score a maximum of 33 points through victories in the Sprint and grand prix, with Russell not scoring a point, the Italian could be crowned world champion at the United States GP in Austin.

- Jake Nichol

MERCEDES BRING FIRST MAJOR UPGRADE OF F1 2026 TO CANADIAN GRAND PRIX IN BID TO FEND OFF RIVALS

Mercedes confirms it is bringing an anticipated upgrade to the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes is unbeaten so far in 2026

Mercedes has confirmed it will bring its first major upgrade of the 2026 Formula 1 season to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

F1 returns to action in Montreal following a three-week break with Mercedes looking to continue its unbeaten start to the campaign.

Mercedes has claimed pole position and won all four of the opening races, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinching three consecutive victories to build a surprise 20-point advantage over team-mate George Russell in the championship.

Antonelli celebrates his third straight F1 win

Despite Mercedes’ strong start to the season, its rivals - especially McLaren - closed the gap by bringing significant upgrades at the last round in Miami.

Mercedes did not update its W17 challenger in Miami, opting instead to debut a bigger upgrade in Canada.

“Our competitors took a step forward in Miami and we need to respond; seven Grands Prix in 10 weekends before shutdown is an opportunity to do that and build momentum,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.

“We bring our first update package of the year to Montreal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track.

“Despite being in the middle of May, we are just four races into the season. There is a long year ahead and, whilst this is an important weekend, it will not decide any outcomes.

“We will stay balanced, keep learning, and execute each weekend as well as we can. We won't get too high when we succeed or too low in the difficult moments; that is as true for our drivers as it is for the rest of the team.”

MCLAREN NOT DONE WITH DEVELOPMENT

Norris led a McLaren 1-2 in the Miami sprint

Reigning world champion Lando Norris beat Antonelli to pole for the Miami sprint and went on to lead a dominant McLaren 1-2 in Saturday’s shortened race, before having to settle for second behind Antonelli in the main grand prix.

McLaren nevertheless made an encouraging step forward compared to Mercedes and will continue to bring new parts to their MCL40, which was heavily revised in Miami.

"We feel extremely satisfied with the weekend, very encouraged, not only because in a single weekend we scored more points than the three previous races, but also because of the trend that we have established," McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said.

"We know that we have some more upgrades coming, which are kind of coming from the same group, so we are optimistic that they may allow us to take some further steps forward.

"I think Mercedes still possess a couple of tenths advantage on anybody else. This was the most noticeable today in the race and [in grand prix qualifying]. I think in the first sprint section of the weekend, for some reason Mercedes didn't express its full potential.

"So, I think Mercedes is still the best team, probably because we don't have many high speed corners here it's less noticeable than some other tracks. But I think they also did a good job of optimising what they had after having learned from the sprint qualifying and the sprint race."

- Lewis Larkam

LANDO NORRIS ISSUES SARCASTIC RESPONSE WHEN TOLD GEORGE RUSSELL IS FAVOURITE FOR THE 2026 F1 TITLE

Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

With the new F1 season now just weeks away, Lando Norris is looking to defend his F1 title for the very first time, but he is expected to face some stern competition from Mercedes’ George Russell.

Ever since making their F1 debuts together in 2019, both Lando Norris and George Russell have shown that the future of British drivers in the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport is in good hands.

They have cemented themselves as two of the best drivers on the grid, with Norris claiming a maiden world title with McLaren in the most recent term.

On the other hand, the Mercedes driver hasn’t quite reached the same heights as his compatriot yet, but Russell is expected to win at least one title before he calls it a day in the cockpit of an F1 car.

Lando Norris gave a sarcastic response after being told George Russell is the favourite in 2026

With one week of pre-season testing now out of the way, Mercedes appears to have a relatively strong package at the early stages of F1’s new regulations.

Now, that could all change by the time the grid hits the track in Melbourne at the start of March, but it’s impossible to rule out the Silver Arrows as a genuine title contender in the upcoming campaign.

Martin Brundle believes Russell will fancy his chances of securing a maiden title this season, and according to Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater, the British driver is the ‘bookmaker’s favourite’.

When asked for his thoughts on this by Slater during an interview at McLaren’s Woking-based headquarters, Norris couldn’t help but laugh.

He sarcastically responded to the journalist with, “He is the massive favourite, to be honest with you. I completely agree with the bookmakers.”

Mercedes are regarded as the benchmark in the upcoming season largely due to their impressive reliability at last week’s shakedown in Barcelona.

Between Kimi Antonelli and Russell, the new W17 clocked in the most mileage out of any team on the grid.

The Briton also led his rivals in the overall lap count, completing a whopping 265 laps from just a day and a half inside the cockpit.

Lando Norris also detailed how an F1 title fight with George Russell would impact their friendship

Norris and Russell have shared an amicable relationship throughout their respective careers, from the rivalry they shared as they both climbed the single-seater ladder.

The reigning world champion was also asked how their friendship would deal with them both going head to head for a title by Slater.

Norris replied, “We’ll see. I mean, you know, me and George get along well. It’s not like we talk every day, but I think we have a lot of respect for one another.

“I think he shows that towards me, and I completely believe he’ll win a championship in the future. So whether that’s this year or next year, whatever it may be.

I’ve enjoyed my battles with him and he’s a lovely guy. So I’ve enjoyed all of it.”

- Ashley Hambly