Naomi Schiff, former W Series driver and Sky Sports analyst, has questioned the decision of the Mercedes team to allow George Russell to serve an engine penalty during the Singapore Grand Prix. This decision can be complicated, as the Marina Bay circuit is known for being unfriendly to comebacks from the back of the grid.
Russell will see how he positions himself towards the lower end of the grid for this race after exceeding his quota of power units. This decision was made following his retirement during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, where he suffered an engine failure.
In an episode of the podcast Up To Speed, Schiff commented that she was surprised by the decision to impose the penalty in Singapore. ‘I don’t know if they didn’t have a suitable spare engine, but it seems there are other races that would have been more suitable for this decision,’ she stated.
According to Schiff, circuits like Austin, which is not too far away, could have been more appropriate for a better comeback opportunity, as it has several long straights that facilitate overtaking. Furthermore, Russell’s situation is further complicated, as the Singapore Grand Prix includes a sprint race, which will allow only one practice session before the qualifying for the sprint race on Friday.
Following Russell’s retirement in Sepang, his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, leads the drivers’ championship with 320 points, while Russell is in second place with 236 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton, who has 214 points.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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