Russell fastest in 'downgraded' Mercedes in only Singapore practice
George Russell topped the practice timesheet at the Singapore Grand Prix using an older-spec Mercedes car. The session was marked by varied tyre strategies and a brief virtual safety car following a gearbox failure for Nico Hulkenberg's Audi.
Why it matters
This report highlights the technical challenges teams face in evaluating performance upgrades during limited practice time in the 2026 F1 season.
Formula 1 Russell fastest in 'downgraded' Mercedes in only Singapore practice Matt Beer 09 Oct 2026 — 1 min read George Russell's older-spec Mercedes topped the only practice session of Formula 1's 2026 Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
But though Kimi Antonelli's upgraded version was only seventh and 1.3 seconds slower, there's little that can be concluded from that given the very different ends to their sessions.
While Russell was among those who took softs at the end of an hour most had spent entirely on hard tyres, Antonelli switched to mediums - and then went down an escape road dodging traffic, including Russell, on his last proper lap.
During the hard tyre running, the two versions of the Mercedes had been just 0.056s apart, Antonelli first and Russell third with Charles Leclerc's Ferrari between them.
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