George Russell's hopes of winning the 2026 world championship hit another road bump on Wednesday when it was announced that because of an engine penalty he would have to start from the back of the grid in this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.
The Englishman had to retire in the closing laps while running third in the Bahrain GP in Malaysia last weekend, allowing his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, who came second, to open up a gap of 84 points at the top of the standings.
Russell will exceed the season allocation of power unit components and be penalised at least 10 places although Mercedes acknowledged that because of the number of parts he needs replacing, he will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid.
"Malaysia was obviously a very difficult weekend for us," said team principal Toto Wolff who at least had the comfort of Antonelli's podium behind race winner Max Verstappen.
"We have spent the days since then working hard to understand why our performance was not where it should have been.
"George has the added challenge of a power unit penalty, which will mean starting from the back of the grid on Sunday, following the engine failure in Malaysia.
"That is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for. Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport."
Russell, 28, saw himself as one of the main contenders for the world title as early as winter testing in February, but he was quickly beaten on merit – and with a dose of bad luck – by Antonelli.
The Englishman has at times admitted he has lost the championship and at other times said he has regained "confidence", notably after his victory on the Baku street circuit two weeks ago.
In Malaysia, he quipped after his retirement: "Better to laugh about it."
Sunday's Singapore GP, which will be held on a street circuit at night, is preceded on Saturday by the last sprint race of the season, in which Russell will not be penalised.
One crumb of comfort for Russell might be that when Antonelli had to start from the back for a similar reason in Monza, he worked his way through the field to win the Italian Grand Prix.