George Russell reveals reason behind wait for Mercedes F1 engine penalty

George Russell has explained why he is delaying his inevitable power unit penalty, despite Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli electing to take his at the Italian Grand Prix.

Russell is waiting to take the grid penalty until Mercedes introduces its next internal combustion engine (ICE) specification under the FIA’s Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) programme.

The British driver had been expected to take the penalty potentially as early as at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Baku’s long straights offering an opportunity to recover positions after starting further down the grid.

But Mercedes' ADUO upgrade is now more likely to arrive during the United States, Mexico and Brazil triple-header, meaning Russell could have to wait until the end of October before taking the hit.

The eight-time constructors' champion's power unit reliability problems earlier in the season forced both Russell and Antonelli to use more components than their standard allocation allows.

Russell has already reached the seasonal limit for his internal combustion engine, turbo, energy store and control electronics. Any further changes to those components before the ADUO upgrade would therefore trigger grid penalties.

Antonelli opted to take a penalty at Monza, starting from 19th on the grid. The decision ultimately worked, with the 20-year-old fighting through the field to claim victory. That raised the obvious question of why Russell had not simply done the same.

Why Russell is waiting

The key difference is Mercedes' planned ADUO upgrade.

If Russell had taken fresh components at Monza, he would have incurred a penalty there but would then have faced another grid drop when Mercedes introduced the upgraded specification.

In other words, taking the penalty early would not have solved the problem: Russell would effectively have had to take another penalty when the ADUO components arrived.

Mercedes therefore intends to combine the two events, allowing Russell to take his penalty when he switches to the upgraded specification rather than being penalised twice.

"We're waiting to take my penalty with the ADUO upgrade," Russell told media, including RacingNews365.

"Otherwise, if I took it there [at Monza], I'd have to take it again. So, you know, it made zero sense for me."

He admitted that, with hindsight, Monza would have been the ideal place to take the penalty after seeing Antonelli recover from 19th to win.

But the timing of Mercedes' upgrade means following his team-mate's approach would ultimately have been counterproductive.

Antonelli has more flexibility

Antonelli's situation, on the other hand, is slightly different because Mercedes did not give him a completely new power unit at Monza.

Instead, the championship leader took a new ICE, energy store and control electronics, leaving him free to change several other components without incurring another penalty. Those include the turbo, MGU-K, exhaust and associated ancillaries.

That means Antonelli can benefit from Mercedes' ADUO upgrade without suffering the same double jeopardy facing Russell.

The planned upgrade is understood to include an improved turbo, and Antonelli will have access to the revised specification when Mercedes introduces it.