News Summary
- Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ upgraded W17 has improved significantly, with Kimi Antonelli qualifying fourth, 0.189s behind Max Verstappen.
- The Mercedes team principal revealed that Russell’s rebuilt car may have been missing some sensors following his crash in the sprint.
- Wolff wants further evidence from Sunday’s race, particularly regarding tyre degradation, before declaring the update a success.
Toto Wolff has revealed that Mercedes’ troubled aerodynamic upgrade finally appears to be working at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli showing improved performance in qualifying after the team identified and corrected problems affecting the updated W17.
The Italian secured fourth place with a 1:31.562, just 0.189s behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen, while George Russell finished sixth in qualifying with the older aerodynamic specification after his Mercedes was rebuilt following Saturday’s sprint crash.
Wolff acknowledged that Russell’s car had not returned to exactly the same condition as before the accident, suggesting that some sensors may have been missing when the Briton returned to the circuit.
Wolff says Mercedes engineers have improved updated W17
Mercedes entered Singapore running two different aerodynamic specifications, with Russell reverting to the older package and Antonelli continuing with the update introduced at Sepang.
The comparison initially favoured Russell, who topped Friday’s FP1 and qualified second for the sprint, while Antonelli struggled with the newer car.
However, the Italian’s performance improved on Saturday, with the Mercedes engineers making progress in understanding the updated package.
“Yeah, complicated because we had two different cars running,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
“I must say that the mechanics did an unbelievable job in putting the car together, but maybe at the end, you know, we didn’t have all of the sensors on the car, and it didn’t feel as good as it did before.”
“So George did a really good job, and on Kimi’s side, you know, the updates seem to have worked now. Him and his engineers have dialled out the problems, and we got closer and closer, and eventually we’re missing a tenth and a half or two tenths, and that is at least for qualifying positive.”
The assessment supports Antonelli’s explanation that Mercedes had identified the issues affecting its updated W17, allowing the Italian to qualify closer to the front.
Mercedes still wants proof that upgrade works in race conditions
Despite the improvement in qualifying, Wolff cautioned that Mercedes still needs to understand how the updated package performs over a full race distance.
Asked whether he was now more comfortable with the aerodynamic changes, particularly after the difficulties experienced at Sepang and during Friday’s running, the Austrian insisted that further evidence was required.
“Well, it will take some more proof of concept until I’m feeling warm and fuzzy, but we will have more data tomorrow in the race, whether we can have less degradation,” Wolff said.
Tyre degradation will be an important consideration during Sunday’s Grand Prix, particularly given the circuit’s demanding sequence of corners and the potential for changing weather conditions.
The updated specification had previously proved difficult for Antonelli to drive, with Wolff admitting on Friday that the newer car appeared less stable than the older configuration.
As GRANDE PRÊMIO reported after Friday’s practice, the team had not concluded that the new package was slower, despite the difficulties experienced by its drivers.
Wolff surprised by Russell’s rare sprint mistake
Wolff also discussed Russell’s accident during Saturday’s sprint, which occurred shortly after the Briton overtook Verstappen for the lead.
The Mercedes driver lost control at the final corner after touching the kerb and struck the barriers, triggering a safety car.
Wolff admitted that he initially struggled to believe Russell had been responsible for the incident because of the driver’s normally consistent performances.
“When I saw the yellow coming out, I didn’t think it was him, because I couldn’t imagine that George would do such a mistake, because it happened for a long time,” Wolff said.
“Actually, the last one was in Singapore, I think in the race with Lewis, maybe. So that’s very, very unusual.”
The Mercedes boss suggested that Russell had been caught out by the car’s power delivery while running on the wet surface.
“Fair enough, you know, the power kicked in at the moment where he didn’t expect it, and he was on the white line. Running first is always tricky, because you’re looking how fast you can go through the corners. So not at all George can happen.”
GRANDE PRÊMIO covered Russell’s second-lap accident, which ended his opportunity to score championship points in the shorter race.
Russell later admitted that his Mercedes felt different after being rebuilt, although the team had managed to get the car ready for qualifying.
Antonelli starts fourth as Russell faces recovery race
Antonelli will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from fourth, behind Verstappen and the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell, meanwhile, carries a previously confirmed 40-place power-unit grid penalty, placing him at the back of the field despite qualifying sixth.
The Briton enters the race 89 points behind Antonelli in the Drivers’ Championship, following his retirement from Saturday’s sprint.
The updated Singapore GP schedule, including Sunday’s race time is available in GRANDE PRÊMIO, which follows the latest Formula 1 news throughout the Singapore GP weekend.
