Mercedes offers fresh judgement on upgrade after Singapore GP qualifying

At the Singapore Grand Prix, Mercedes has been running a split strategy when it comes to the setup of their cars, as George Russell has the older package, and Kimi Antonelli has the newer package.

Throughout the weekend in Singapore, Antonelli has struggled with the newer Mercedes package, and Russell has been outperforming the Italian.

However, in the qualifying session for the Grand Prix, the tables turned, and Antonelli admitted that the issues with his package have been found, and his side of the garage can understand the car more.

The current championship leader will start the race on Sunday from the second row of the grid in fourth place, but was able to make a step from his seventh-place qualifying position for the sprint race on Saturday.

"It definitely felt in a better place today,” Antonelli stated after qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix.

“Still, though the window is very small where the car operates, and especially throughout qualifying, when you try to find every little bit more time, the car always reacts a bit differently, and this could also be from corner to corner. 

“But I think you know the team did a really good job because, first of all, we found the issues and now we're able to understand the package more. 

“Now it's more about trying to find the right window with the setup to make sure that the package works at its best." 

After the qualifying session on Saturday, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff revealed that the problems that his team had been experiencing with Antonelli’s car had been ‘dialled out’ and that qualifying was ‘positive’.

Wolff said, “The updates seem to have worked now. Kimi and his engineers have dialled out the problems. 

“We got closer and closer, and eventually we're missing a tenth and a half or two tenths, and that is at least for qualifying positive."