Antonelli finds new Mercedes spec difficult as team splits Singapore setups

Mercedes split its car specifications for the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, putting George Russell on an older setup and Kimi Antonelli in the newer specification. The move came after two successive weekends in which the previously strong Mercedes package had looked more vulnerable.

In Sprint Qualifying, Russell took second while Antonelli finished seventh, around half a second slower than his team-mate. Antonelli said he had high hopes but that the car had so far been very difficult to drive.

The weekend has also highlighted a weakness in Mercedes' new upgrade package, with the team still working to understand the changes. Russell said he was pretty satisfied with P2 despite those struggles.