Russell leads Singapore practice session with a brand new Power Unit

George Russell set the pace in the only practice session before Singapore Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying, but his fastest lap came with a significant cost: the Mercedes driver is set to start from the back of the grid after a complete power-unit change.

Mercedes split its specifications as Russell takes a penalty

The FIA confirmed during the session that Mercedes had installed a new power unit in Russell’s car. The change included the internal combustion engine, turbocharger, MGU-K, energy store, control electronics and exhaust set, leaving him with a back-of-grid start.

Russell surged ahead when the drivers switched tyres

With just one practice session before the first Sprint Qualifying session, drivers wasted little time on a dusty track. Max Verstappen set an early benchmark on hard tyres, before Leclerc and then Russell moved ahead. Norris later lowered the leading time to 1:34.367, with Leclerc improving again to 1:33.969.

Antonelli briefly took the top spot, and at halfway he led Leclerc by 0.034 seconds, with Russell next. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was fourth at that stage. Verstappen was 1.1 seconds off the pace after encountering radio problems early in the session, according to team principal Laurent Mekies.

A stoppage for Nico Hulkenberg brought out the Virtual Safety Car with 20 minutes remaining. His Audi stopped on the start-finish straight, and marshals helped move it back to the garage. He did not return to the track.

In the final 15 minutes, drivers moved to medium or soft tyres. Russell’s soft-tyre lap put him ahead of Antonelli’s best on hards by almost a second. Lewis Hamilton briefly edged Russell by 0.043 seconds, but Russell responded with a lap nearly six-tenths quicker than Hamilton’s, before Leclerc and Norris split the pair. Follow our guide to Russell’s prospects from the rear in Singapore.