SINGAPORE — George Russell will begin the Singapore Grand Prix from the pit lane after Mercedes fitted a brand new energy unit to his automotive and incurred a penalty.

Russell certified eleventh for Sunday’s race after combating a suspected engine difficulty that affected his automotive beneath braking.

Mercedes took the chance to interchange the ability unit in his automotive however didn’t inform the FIA technical delegate, which resulted in a pit lane begin penalty relatively than the same old back-of-grid penalty.

“I used to be combating one thing relating to the brakes and the engine from first observe the place it was pushing me into the corners,” Russell informed Sky Sports activities F1 after qualifying. “And it sort of felt like I had throttle on as I used to be entering into.

“I did not have throttle and it is not that however that was [the] feeling, type of pushing me all over the place. In order the automotive’s braking, I simply get to the nook and it was like one thing had pushed me from behind and [I] simply could not get spherical there.

“The grip felt good, I simply could not get round any corners. I simply acquired there and simply saved understeering off.”

Singapore is among the many hardest tracks to overhaul on the calendar, though the Mercedes automotive confirmed spectacular tempo within the palms of Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, who certified 0.056s off Charles Leclerc on pole.