Singapore Grand Prix grid heavily adjusted after huge George Russell penalty

2026 F1 Singapore Grand Prix starting grid

George Russell's back-of-the-grid penalty at the Singapore Grand Prix has heavily adjusted the starting line-up at Marina Bay.

Coming into the session, Russell already knew that no matter what he did, he would be starting at the back after Mercedes was forced to take a new power unit for the Briton after his failure in Sepang last time out in the race.

Ultimately, Russell was sixth-fastest on the road in Singapore, but given his penalty, he falls down to P21 on the grid, with only Isack Hadjar behind. Everyone behind Russell therefore moves up one place, with the McLarens now sharing the third-row after their crash in the Sprint. 

The reason for Hadjar being behind Russell is that the Red Bull suffered gearbox gremlins in Q1 after a power unit change after the Sprint, leaving Hadjar with no time set in qualifying. Thus, under the rules, as he set a time, Russell is ahead of Hadjar. 

Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso could yet take a penalty after Honda signalled it would change his power unit after an issue was detected, but it is unclear whether this is from Alonso's pool or a fresh unit, which would trigger a penalty.

Up front, the first two rows of the grid remain unchanged with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton hoping to keep the pole-sitting Max Verstappen honest, as Kimi Antonelli looks to close in on his first world title from fourth, now holding an 89-point lead over Russell down in 21st.

NOTE: Grid remains provisional until officially confirmed by the FIA.