George Russell is set to take another grid penalty at the November Las Vegas Grand Prix, after Mercedes planned an upgraded power unit element for him. Russell started at the back of the grid for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix following a power unit change, which came after an engine issue at the previous race in Malaysia forced him to retire late on. He recovered to ninth, but now trails Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 102 points in the Drivers' Championship with six rounds remaining, leaving him all but mathematically out of the title fight.
Prior to his Malaysia reliability woes, Mercedes had planned for Russell to take on a new power unit at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. It now appears he will take the new part three races later, at Las Vegas on November 20-22. Mercedes are using an upgrade opportunity granted by the FIA's ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) system to improve their engine. The governing body's ranking of Mercedes' engine performance below Red Bull's caused some dispute, with the Milton Keynes squad arguing that the Silver Arrows, who dominate the Constructors' Championship, already have the best power unit.
Russell said the timing could be later in the season. "Now we have the choice to take it when we wish and we will choose slightly easier tracks [to overtake at]," he said.
Russell came into 2026 as favourite for the championship, but he has been largely outpaced by Antonelli, who has eight wins to his three. Mercedes brought an upgrade package to Malaysia that did not deliver the instant performance they expected. Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped every competitive session of the Singapore Sprint weekend, although Russell was leading the Sprint race until he crashed. "The goal right now is to try to improve the car," said Russell. "We were very much the dominant team for this whole season."
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing