Russell and Wolff explain Mercedes' two-spec Singapore experiment

[Vacant Falcon]

Mercedes made an unusual decision in Singapore by running its car in two different specifications. PlanetF1 reports that George Russell switched back to the older spec so the team could compare it directly with Kimi Antonelli's upgraded car. The upgrade first appeared at the race held at Sepang, and it was Mercedes' first major package since Canada

The background is a shift in form. Mercedes won eight of the first ten races of 2026 but only half of the six since. Red Bull and Max Verstappen have won the last two, both after Mercedes brought its big upgrade. Russell said the team's priority is to understand where more performance will come from

Russell's weekend was difficult. He started from the back after a penalty for going over his power unit allocation and recovered to ninth. Antonelli finished third and stretched his championship lead to 102 points, which means he could mathematically clinch the title at the next race in Texas

Toto Wolff told RacingNews365 that the split was meant to speed up learning, because the new car needs a different set up philosophy. He admitted the upgrade has not yet delivered the hoped for performance but called it a step in the right direction. He indicated both cars will probably run the new parts at the United States Grand Prix in Austin on 25 October

It is a brave approach that shows how seriously Mercedes is taking the comparison. Running two specs is rare at the front of the grid, but it gives engineers clean data on what works. With a championship nearly won, it is a sensible time to experiment

Was running two specs the right call for Mercedes? And will Antonelli wrap up the title in Austin?

Russell demands Mercedes answers after dropping behind Red Bullwww.planetf1.com