INDEPENDENT RACING JOURNALISMFacts. Context. Evidence.
GPBeat.comGPBeat.com
THE INDEPENDENT RACING DESK
ENNL
F1 news
F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT
Conceptual AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph or evidence that a pictured event, meeting or transfer occurred.

Russell calls Mercedes’ older car ‘not bad’ after provisional second place in Singapore Sprint Qualifying

Conceptual AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph or evidence that a pictured event, meeting or transfer occurred. · 2026-10-09GPBeat newsroom · News Made Clear generated illustration

Russell was 0.120 seconds behind Max Verstappen in the provisional Singapore Sprint Qualifying classification; Kimi Antonelli was provisionally seventh in Mercedes’ upgraded car.

GPBeat · Newsroom09 Oct 2026, 19:38 · 1 min

George Russell was provisionally classified second in Friday’s Singapore Sprint Qualifying, 0.120 seconds behind Max Verstappen. He called the older Mercedes he drove “not bad”.

Mercedes split its specifications for the weekend: Russell reverted to the Azerbaijan version, while Kimi Antonelli continued with the upgrade the team had brought to Malaysia. Russell set the fastest lap in Friday’s only practice session; Antonelli was seventh in practice and provisionally seventh in Sprint Qualifying.

Russell said the team had nothing to suggest the upgrade was not working, although the stopwatch had not yet been kind to it. Antonelli described the upgraded car as very difficult and unpredictable to drive after Sprint Qualifying.

Russell’s result is an encouraging sign for Mercedes’ older specification, but it does not settle whether the upgrade is faster: he and Antonelli ran different versions, so Friday’s times cannot isolate the effect of the update.

Sources 03
  1. PRIMARY SOURCERussell reacts to P2 in Sprint Quali with downgraded carFormula 1
  2. PRIMARY SOURCEDoc 23 - Provisional Sprint Qualifying ClassificationFIA F1 decision documents
  3. PRIMARY SOURCEAntonelli struggling with ‘very difficult’ new-spec carFormula 1

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.

Read also

  1. FIA stewards delete 10 Sprint lap entries for eight drivers in Singapore

  2. Motorsport.com: Mercedes upgrade may offer more pace, but is harder to unlock

  3. Two-day conversion rules out full return to old Mercedes spec for Antonelli in Singapore

  4. Antonelli calls upgraded Mercedes unpredictable after Singapore Sprint Qualifying P7

  5. Antonelli leads Russell 12-11 in qualifying tally after Singapore