The British driver failed to make it out of Q2 and was only 11th on the provisional grid after being handicapped by a driving problem during qualifying.
The team decided to make a strategic decision and make a power unit change in Singapore at relatively little cost, giving them fresh stuff for the rest of the season.
Russell took a V6, turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K, control electronics and power store, all of which generate penalties. He also took on a new exhaust which is within his allowance.
After qualifying, Russell indicated the team might have to try something to make the most of the situation.
“Whatever the performance, you never want to start P11 in a Grand Prix when you have the car to fight for the win,” he said.
“There was a safety car every time we came here. Hopefully we will need a few pit stops to try and do something different from our rivals, but it won’t be an easy race.
Russell was surprised by a problem which seemed to cause his car to advance under braking in certain corners, and which had appeared regularly over the weekend.
George Russell, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Immediately after qualifying he didn’t know what the cause was, although later it turned out it was brake related.
“I had a recurring issue that we faced in FP1 where I felt like every time I came into the corner I was kind of like I was speeding up,” said he declared.
“And the car was totally pushing. I think we see that problem on the data. But it got progressively worse as qualifying went on.
“So I couldn’t get around any of the corners at low speed. It literally felt like someone was trying to push me from behind. So it was really unfortunate.
“It was there from the first lap of qualifying but it got progressively worse. So yeah, really frustrating considering how fast the car has been here and how fast our race pace is.
When asked if the problem was the root of his two incidents in training, he added: “I don’t know. They both seemed very strange to me. I don’t want to point the blame elsewhere.
“But it’s something I’ve never, ever noticed before, and never felt before. And it was clearly there in FP1 in my opinion. And as soon as I went out in qualifying, something was wrong.
“The grip was really strong, every time I came into a corner I would completely let go of the brake. And I was going straight everywhere. I just couldn’t get around the corners.
The British driver failed to make it out of Q2 and was only 11th on the provisional grid after being handicapped by a driving problem during qualifying.
The team decided to make a strategic decision and make a power unit change in Singapore at relatively little cost, giving them fresh stuff for the rest of the season.
Russell took a V6, turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K, control electronics and power store, all of which generate penalties. He also took on a new exhaust which is within his allowance.
After qualifying, Russell indicated the team might have to try something to make the most of the situation.
“Whatever the performance, you never want to start P11 in a Grand Prix when you have the car to fight for the win,” he said.
“There was a safety car every time we came here. Hopefully we will need a few pit stops to try and do something different from our rivals, but it won’t be an easy race.
Russell was surprised by a problem which seemed to cause his car to advance under braking in certain corners, and which had appeared regularly over the weekend.
George Russell, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Immediately after qualifying he didn’t know what the cause was, although later it turned out it was brake related.
“I had a recurring issue that we faced in FP1 where I felt like every time I came into the corner I was kind of like I was speeding up,” said he declared.
“And the car was totally pushing. I think we see that problem on the data. But it got progressively worse as qualifying went on.
“So I couldn’t get around any of the corners at low speed. It literally felt like someone was trying to push me from behind. So it was really unfortunate.
“It was there from the first lap of qualifying but it got progressively worse. So yeah, really frustrating considering how fast the car has been here and how fast our race pace is.
When asked if the problem was the root of his two incidents in training, he added: “I don’t know. They both seemed very strange to me. I don’t want to point the blame elsewhere.
“But it’s something I’ve never, ever noticed before, and never felt before. And it was clearly there in FP1 in my opinion. And as soon as I went out in qualifying, something was wrong.
“The grip was really strong, every time I came into a corner I would completely let go of the brake. And I was going straight everywhere. I just couldn’t get around the corners.