Motor racing-Russell’s title hopes on the line as F1 heads to Singapore

Formula One F1 - Bahrain Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia - October 4, 2026 Mercedes' George Russell at the pit lane as the race is delayed due to rain REUTERS/Annice Lyn/Pool/File Photo

SINGAPORE, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Formula One arrives in ⁠Singapore this week with George Russell's title challenge hanging by a thread after his retirement in Malaysia handed Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli firm ⁠control of the championship battle.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit has a history of delivering drama under the lights, and Russell desperately ‌needs some luck to go his way after a power unit failure while running third at Sepang allowed Antonelli to stretch his advantage to 84 points.

Russell had arrived in Malaysia buoyed by a dominant victory in Azerbaijan and would have hoped to reinforce his title credentials before his car failed with five laps remaining.

With little time to rest as Formula One heads into ​the final leg of its triple-header on the streets of Singapore, Russell faces a very different ⁠challenge as he looks to keep his slim title ⁠hopes alive.

ENGINE SETBACK FOR RUSSELL

The Briton won last year's race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but is set to start from the back of ⁠the ‌grid on Sunday after Mercedes confirmed he had no engines left in his season's allocation of four.

Russell will need a new engine for the sprint weekend and had hoped to take the penalty at the US Grand Prix in Austin, where overtaking is easier than the tight and slow ⁠Singapore track where 11 of the 16 races have been won from pole.

The 4.927-km-long ​Singapore circuit features 19 corners with walls so close ‌they punish even the smallest errors while heat and humidity make it one of the season's most physically demanding races.

"George has the ⁠added challenge of a power ​unit penalty, which will mean starting from the back of the grid on Sunday, following the engine failure in Malaysia," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said.

"That is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for.

"Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport and our focus now is on giving ⁠him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field."

Antonelli's objective ​is far simpler. The Italian finished a distant fifth last year - more than half-a-minute behind Russell - but he does not need a victory.

As the season draws to a close, all he needs to do is keep Russell behind him and avoid handing momentum back to his team mate.

'UNFINISHED BUSINESS' FOR VERSTAPPEN

For Red Bull's Max ⁠Verstappen, Malaysia was more than just his first victory of the season.

Red Bull had spent much of the year looking like a team waiting for opportunities rather than creating them, but at Sepang the pieces came together as the car had the pace to compete with the Mercedes duo at the top of the standings.

Verstappen seized pole position and, when the rain came, was untouchable in the treacherous conditions as he delivered Red Bull's first victory with their own ​power unit.

However, Singapore offers the first chance to discover whether Malaysia was an isolated return to form or ⁠the beginning of something more significant.

Marina Bay is not Sepang and the demands of the circuit are almost entirely different.

"I think the win was quite track-specific so ​we will need to see how we go heading into this week," Verstappen said.

"I enjoy this ‌track as a street circuit, it has a lot of corners and ​is quite bumpy. The heat is obviously a factor but at least we are racing at night this time around.

"Singapore is a race that I haven't won before, so it does feel like unfinished business at this track."

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in SingaporeEditing by Toby Davis)

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一级方程式赛车（F1）——巴林大奖赛——马来西亚雪邦国际赛道——2026年10月4日，梅赛德斯车队的乔治·拉塞尔在维修区，比赛因雨延误。路透社/安妮丝·林/Pool/档案照片

新加坡，10 月 7 日（路透社）——本周一级方程式赛车来到新加坡，乔治·拉塞尔的冠军挑战岌岌可危，因为他在马来西亚的退赛让梅赛德斯队友基米·安东内利牢牢掌控了冠军争夺战。

滨海湾街道赛道素来以在灯光下上演戏剧性场面而闻名，拉塞尔在雪邦赛道排名第三时动力单元发生故障，导致安东内利将领先优势扩大到 84 分，他现在迫切需要一些运气来帮助自己。

拉塞尔带着在阿塞拜疆取得的压倒性胜利的喜悦来到马来西亚，他原本希望巩固自己的冠军地位，但他的赛车在比赛还剩五圈时发生故障。

由于一级方程式赛车即将在新加坡街道赛道迎来三连赛的最后一站，休息时间非常有限，拉塞尔面临着截然不同的挑战，他希望能够保住自己微弱的冠军希望。

拉塞尔遭遇引擎故障

这位英国车手赢得了去年在滨海湾街道赛道举行的比赛，但由于梅赛德斯确认他本赛季分配的四个引擎已经用完，他将在周日的比赛中从发车格的最后一位起跑。

拉塞尔需要在冲刺赛周末使用新的引擎，他原本希望在奥斯汀举行的美国大奖赛上接受处罚，因为在奥斯汀超车比在狭窄而缓慢的新加坡赛道上容易得多，而新加坡赛道16场比赛中有11场是从杆位发车的车手赢得的。

新加坡赛道全长 4.927 公里，共有 19 个弯道，弯道两侧的墙壁非常近，即使是最小的失误也会受到惩罚；此外，炎热潮湿的天气也使它成为本赛季对体能要求最高的比赛之一。

“乔治还面临着动力单元处罚的额外挑战，这意味着由于在马来西亚的引擎故障，他将在周日从发车格的最后一位起跑，”梅赛德斯车队负责人托托·沃尔夫说道。

“考虑到他上周末的驾驶方式以及他本应争取到的结果，这尤其令人沮丧。”

“很遗憾，这些都是这项运动的一部分，我们现在的重点是给他最好的赛车和机会，让他能够奋起直追。”

安东内利的目标要简单得多。这位意大利车手去年仅获得第五名——落后拉塞尔超过半分钟——但他并不需要一场胜利。

随着赛季接近尾声，他只需要保持领先于拉塞尔，避免将比赛的势头拱手让给队友即可。

维斯塔潘的“未竟之业”

对于红牛车队的马克斯·维斯塔潘来说，马来西亚站不仅仅是他本赛季的首场胜利。

今年大部分时间里，红牛车队看起来都像是在等待机会而不是创造机会，但在雪邦赛道，一切都迎刃而解，赛车的速度足以与积分榜榜首的梅赛德斯双雄一较高下。

维斯塔潘夺得杆位，雨水落下后，他在湿滑的赛道上所向披靡，为红牛车队赢得了使用自主研发动力单元的首场胜利。

然而，新加坡提供了第一个机会，让我们得以了解马来西亚的复苏究竟是孤立的，还是某种更重大事件的开端。

滨海湾赛道并非雪邦赛道，其赛道要求几乎完全不同。

“我认为这场胜利很大程度上取决于赛道情况，所以我们需要看看本周的情况如何，”维斯塔潘说道。

“我喜欢这条赛道，把它当作街道赛道来用，它有很多弯道，而且路面相当颠簸。天气炎热显然是一个因素，但至少这次我们是晚上比赛。”

“新加坡站是我之前从未赢过的比赛，所以感觉在这条赛道上还有未竟的事业。”

（新加坡 Rohith Nair 报道，Toby Davis 编辑）

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