After struggling in Malaysia, Mercedes took the unusual step of running two different specifications of car at the Singapore Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli raced with the new upgrade and finished third, while George Russell, already facing an engine penalty, reverted to the old package. Team principal Toto Wolff said the move was essential for the development of the 2027 car. "We made the unusual move in a cutting-edge technology business to have two different cars because we felt we need to accelerate our learning curve," he explained.
Wolff added that the upgraded car requires a completely different set-up. Having analysed the data, Mercedes now plan to run the new package on both cars in Austin.
