Russell to start Singapore Grand Prix from back of grid after power-unit penalty

Britain's George Russell will start from the back of the grid in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix after receiving a power-unit penalty following the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last Sunday.

George Russell has three wins and eight podium finishes this season and had qualified eighth for the Singapore weekend, but he was running third in the previous race before an engine failure forced him to retire with five laps remaining. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has confirmed Russell needs to take a new power unit this weekend, putting him over the limit on several components and meaning he will be penalised in Singapore.

"[Russell's penalty] is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for," said Wolff. "Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport and our focus now is on giving him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field."

Russell's retirement last Sunday allowed Kimi Antonelli, who finished second behind Max Verstappen, to take a large step towards his first Formula 1 world title; Antonelli is now 84 points ahead of his Mercedes team-mate. Antonelli won the Italian Grand Prix last month having taken a similar penalty.

Extra points are on offer this weekend as Singapore hosts the sixth and final sprint event of the season. Russell's penalty will apply to Sunday's Grand Prix and not the sprint race on Saturday, and it is the latest setback in a season of frustrating mechanical issues for Russell, who won last year's Singapore Grand Prix.

"We have spent the days since [last Sunday] working hard to understand why our performance was not where it should have been," Wolff added. "Singapore gives us an immediate opportunity to continue that work. "We need to keep learning and score the strongest result we can with both cars."

There are six or seven races remaining, depending on whether F1 gets the security reassurances it needs for Qatar and Abu Dhabi, in the context of the war in the Middle East.