Naomi Schiff, Sky Sports analyst and former W Series driver, has expressed her bewilderment at Mercedes’ decision to impose an engine penalty on George Russell during this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Schiff argued that the Marina Bay street circuit is not the ideal setting for attempting a recovery from the back of the grid. Russell will fall towards the rear after exceeding his quota of internal combustion engines, amidst his retirement in the Bahrain Grand Prix due to an engine failure.
In an episode of the podcast Up To Speed, Schiff discussed the penalty decision. ‘He has gone without his engine allocation, so they had to make this change and accept the penalty. However, I am surprised they decided to do it here,’ she commented.
Schiff also suggested that there might have been other races in the future that could have been more suitable to apply the penalty, such as Austin, where the circuit characteristics could facilitate overtaking.
The situation is further complicated for Russell, as the Singapore Grand Prix will feature a sprint race, leaving only one practice session before the sprint qualifying, which reduces the pilot’s preparation opportunities.
After his retirement in Sepang, Russell’s teammate, Kimi Antonelli, holds an 84-point lead in the drivers’ standings with a total of 320 points. Russell is in second place with 236 points, followed by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who occupies third place with 214 points.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
