Russell reacts to Verstappen investigation after finishing second in Singapore Sprint Qualifying

George Russell finished second in Singapore Sprint Qualifying, 0.120 seconds behind Max Verstappen. After the session, he said: “I know Max is under investigation, so let’s see.”

Russell said Mercedes had been competitive throughout the day and at the front from the opening laps of first practice. He said Verstappen chose a different approach in the final segment of Sprint Qualifying (SQ3), running only one lap. Russell left open whether that was the best strategy, but said he was fairly satisfied with second place.

Russell was back in the older W17 specification while teammate Kimi Antonelli tested an upgrade with a new floor, sidepods and rear end. That package had made the car harder to drive at Sepang. Russell called his older car “certainly not bad.” In his view, nothing yet indicated that the update was not working, although the lap times had so far not favored it. He added that Saturday might bring a different picture.