Russell faces another blow with likely back of grid start in Singapore

George Russell is set to start from the back of the grid in Singapore this weekend, further damaging the odds of the unlucky Mercedes driver's fading Formula One world title hopes. The team revealed on Tuesday that the Briton had exhausted his engines for the season, forcing him to take a new one for the sprint weekend, which will likely result in penalties placing him at the back of the race.

Russell's retirement from the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last weekend, five laps from the finish while he was in third place, due to a power unit problem, has further eroded his chances. He had previously been the pre-season title favorite, sitting second overall but now trailing championship-leading teammate Kimi Antonio by 84 points.

The final sprint of the season takes place on Saturday, without engine penalties, and six more races follow, meaning Antonio is set to clinch the title with several rounds remaining. Mercedes had anticipated Russell needing a new engine with penalties but had hoped to introduce it at the US Grand Prix in Austin, following Singapore, when they also planned to bring an engine upgrade forward.

Austin typically offers more overtaking opportunities than Singapore's tight and slow circuit. Antonio won his engine penalty at Monza, his home race, from 19th place on the grid, while Russell won Singapore from pole position last year. Only 11 of the 16 races held at Singapore have been won from the front of the grid, with the lowest winning grid position being 15th by Fernando Alonso in a notorious 2008 race where his Brazilian teammate Nelson Piquet crashed deliberately on team orders.

Out of the 16 races at Singapore, 11 have been won from pole position. Mercedes deputy principal Bradley Lord confirmed that investigations into Russell's Sepang engine failure are ongoing, though it is clear that the issue was mechanical.