George Russell confirms plan for another grid penalty to fit upgraded power unit at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Russell plans another grid penalty for upgraded power unit

Mercedes driver George Russell has revealed he plans to take another grid penalty at the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, allowing an upgraded power unit element to be fitted to his car.

Russell started at the back of the grid for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix after a power unit change, following an engine issue in Malaysia that forced him to retire late in the race. He recovered to ninth in Singapore but now trails Antonelli by 102 points in the Drivers' Championship with six rounds remaining, making him all but mathematically out of the title fight.

Prior to the Malaysia reliability problems, Mercedes had planned to fit the new unit at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, which takes place next weekend. That now appears to have shifted, with Russell expected to 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 sport's governing body rated Mercedes' engine performance below Red Bull's, a ranking that caused dispute, with Red Bull arguing that the Silver Arrows, who are dominating the Constructors' Championship, already have the best power unit.

"It will probably be later in the season now to be honest - maybe Las Vegas. But it will be there at some point," Russell told Sky Sports F1. "Now we have the choice to take it when we wish and we will choose slightly easier tracks [to overtake at]."

Russell seeks to get on top of upgrades

Russell came into 2026 as favourite for the championship, with many pundits predicting Mercedes would have the best car and Antonelli, in only his second F1 season, would not be ready to challenge for the title. However, Russell has been largely outpaced by Antonelli, who has eight wins to Russell's three this season.

Mercedes brought an upgrade package to Malaysia which did not deliver the instant performance they anticipated. They ran the pre-Malaysia car with Russell and the new upgrades with Antonelli in Singapore.

"The goal right now is to try to improve the car. We were very much the dominant team for this whole season," said Russell. "You look at the recent races and Red Bull have been very much best. In Baku, Max was a similar level to me. We go to Malaysia, a totally different track, and Singapore another different track, and he's dominated the last two weekends. Right now, the goal is to try and get on top of these updates."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped every competitive session of the Singapore Sprint weekend, and went on to win the Grand Prix, finishing 25 seconds ahead of Antonelli. Antonelli finished on the podium after making late overtakes on McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton.

"I feel like it was a very progressive weekend, where we started off the pace and I've definitely been struggling with the new package," Antonelli said. "But the team did incredibly well on putting the car in a better window. And now we understand a lot more the aero package, how it works, which is very different compared to the old one. All in all, I feel like we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and we're going to keep pushing on this package."

Formula 1 next heads to the Americas for a triple header, with the United States Grand Prix in Austin up first on October 23-25.