Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli says car ‘in a better place’ but Russell takes ‘step backwards’

Kimi Antonelli currently holds an 89-point advantage over teammate George Russell. | Photo Credit: AP

Kimi Antonelli said Mercedes had identified the problems affecting his upgraded car after he qualified fourth for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday. George Russell, meanwhile, felt his performance had gone backwards following his sprint-race crash.

The championship leader, who holds an 89-point advantage over Russell, will start behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Antonelli said the team had made progress in understanding the upgrade package first introduced in Sepang, where he finished second. Russell returned to an older setup, the configuration that helped him win in Baku last month.

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“It definitely felt in a better place today, even though the window is very small where the car operates,” Antonelli said after Saturday’s qualifying session.

“The team did a really good job because, first of all, we found the issues. Now we’re able to understand more of the package and now it’s more about trying to find the right window with the setup to make sure that the package works at its best.

“Let’s see what we can do from P4 but a podium will be very good.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had described the back-to-back evaluation of the upgrades as a challenge, saying the team was effectively using “two test pilots” in Singapore to assess the changes.

“On Kimi’s side the updates seem to have worked now,” Wolff said.

“He and his engineers have dialled out the problems and we got closer and closer. We’re missing a tenth and a half or two-tenths, and that is, at least for qualifying, positive.

“It will take some more proof of concept until I’m feeling warm and fuzzy. But we will have more data tomorrow, in the race, whether we can have less degradation.”

Wolff said Russell’s sprint crash was an unusual error, recalling the Briton’s last-lap accident in Singapore in 2023, which ended his chance of winning.

Russell was sixth quickest in Q3 but is due to start Sunday’s race from the back because of an engine penalty. He said he used qualifying partly to check the car after retiring from the sprint.

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“Something was a bit odd because we had great pace yesterday, and Kimi’s in a similar position to where he was yesterday,” Russell said.

“But I’ve taken a step backwards and the car didn’t feel quite the same... It’ll be tough racing (tomorrow).”