"We're stuck with what we've got" – Why Kimi Antonelli can't revert to previous Mercedes spec in Singapore
For two successive weekends now the previously dominant Mercedes has looked vulnerable, a fact demonstrated by the team going back to an older specification on George Russell's car for the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. Russell qualified second for the sprint race while championship leader Kimi Antonelli laboured to seventh place, half a second off his team-mate. But Russell only scraped through…
Mercedes has reluctantly reverted to an older specification for the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, unable to revert to its previous Mercedes spec. This decision comes after the team's previous dominance waned, with George Russell qualifying second in the sprint race and Kimi Antonelli finishing seventh, half a second behind his teammate.
The team went back to an older front wing for Russell's sprint qualifying, as the new package proved to be trickier to drive, particularly in slow corners. Mercedes swapped the front wing between practice and sprint qualifying, but cannot revert the entire car due to the parc ferme regulations, which only allows for a three-hour window to make changes.
As a result, Mercedes will have to make the best of the current upgrade package for this weekend, hoping to establish a more solid and stable baseline for Antonelli.
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