George Russell is set to start from the back of the grid at the Singapore Grand Prix in another blow to his F1 Drivers' Championship hopes.
After emerging victorious in Azerbaijan on 26th September, Russell endured a dismal race at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday morning.
The Brit suffered a power unit failure when running third at Sepang, while his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli finished second -- behind Max Verstappen -- to extend his lead on Russell.
It's a setback that will have major implications to the 28-year-old's chances in Singapore next weekend, and even further ramifications to his F1 title hopes.
Sky Sports News reported that Russell will take on a new power unit on Friday in Singapore, which will see him surpass the season allocation of four for each driver.
As a result, he will be met with a penalty that will see him drop to the bottom of the grid at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
It was reported that Russell would have a new power unit ahead of the United States Grand Prix later this month, but Sunday's failure has seen the plans pushed forward.
Antonelli recorded one of the most historic victories in F1 history when coming from 19th in the grid to win at his home Italian Grand Prix on 6th September, but the difficulty of the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore significantly hinders the Brit's chances of replicating a similar feat.
While the premature new power unit should prevent any further penalties later in the season, this weekend presents a perfect opportunity for Antonelli to extend his lead at the top of the standings and accelerate his title pursuit.
Speaking on Russell's latest complication, Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said:
"Our investigation so far, we've got the car back, we've been able to do a first inspection, it's clearly a mechanical failure on the power unit side.
"Exactly what the root cause is we still need to determine, but the consequence was clear for all to see."
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