SINGAPORE (AP) — George Russell will be hit with a power unit penalty at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix that could result in Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli extending his lead in the Formula 1 drivers’ standings.
“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,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff announced Wednesday.
“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 and our focus now is on giving him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field.”
Russell’s retirement in Malaysia already helped Antonelli stretch his lead over Russell from 66 to 84 points, with seven races remaining this season.
“Malaysia was obviously a very difficult weekend for us,” Wolff said. “We have spent the days since then working hard to understand why our performance was not where it should have been.”
The 20-year-old Antonelli, who finished second in Malaysia, is closing in on his first F1 title.
“The characteristics of the (Singapore) circuit are very different,” Wolff said, “and that will help us build a clearer picture of where we are.”
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Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates his second place on the podium the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Mercedes crew members for driver George Russell of Britain react inside the garage during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (Annice Lyn/Pool via AP )
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles and drones pounded Kyiv and a dozen other Ukrainian regions overnight into Wednesday, killing at least 19 civilians, including four children, and wounding around 60 in Moscow's latest devastating barrage, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine had anticipated the attack, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the previous day that intelligence services had concluded that Russia was building up for a “massive” strike.
Although Ukraine knew about the looming attack, which coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 74th birthday, it couldn’t fend it off completely.
The deaths and damage illustrated the difficulty Ukraine has in countering Russia’s ballistic missiles and the new jet-powered drones used in Moscow’s escalating bombardments. Without ammunition for its U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, Ukraine can’t stop Russian ballistic weapons. It is racing to develop a new generation of interceptors fast enough to catch Moscow's high-flying jet-propelled drones.
Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a long-range aerial war as their armies remain largely deadlocked on the battlefield, more than 4 ½ years after Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor. The unrelenting aerial attacks are hurting Russia but could be ruinous for smaller Ukraine.
U.S.-led peace efforts appear unlikely to bring any short-term relief, with the possibility of holding low-level technical talks still under discussion. Putin, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with the invasion in the belief that Ukrainians will buckle under the pressure and Kyiv’s Western supporters won’t stay the course, Western analysts say.
A Russian strike destroyed an apartment block in Pryluky, in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, killing 13 people, including four children, and wounding about 50, Interior Minister Ihor Vyhivskyi said.
Deaths were also reported in three other Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, according to Zelenskyy.
“The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively,” the Ukrainian leader said on social media.
Ukraine is looking worldwide for available Patriot missiles, which are in short supply due to the Iran war.
“Russian ballistic missiles remain the greatest challenge. And air defense packages for us right now are a vital necessity,” Zelenskyy said.
In Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven injured, said Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the regional military administration, and a rescue operation was continuing.
“That is exactly what the enemy is counting on. For us to be afraid to fall asleep. To let our children out of our sight. To plan anything. So that everyone thinks: next time it could be my address,” he said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the military carried out a massive strike overnight targeting industrial facilities involved in the production and storage of missiles and drones across Ukraine. The ministry said that port and ship repair facilities in the southern Odesa region and ships carrying cargo for the Ukrainian military were also hit.
Ukraine has hit back at Russia by launching long-range drones and missiles at oil refineries and storage depots.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine targeted two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara, and Astrakhan regions of Russia.
Russian officials made no immediate comment.
Zelenskyy also indicated that Ukraine had struck in the Black Sea. He posted images of a fire said to show an oil tanker burning in the water near the Russian city of Sochi.
It was not possible to independently verify the images.
Some Russian online media late Tuesday also posted the images. Unconfirmed media reports said it was carrying oil from Novorossiysk to India and was attacked by Ukrainian sea drones.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting on the development of energy storage systems via videoconference, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, rescuers work on the scene of a building destroyed following recent Russian attacks in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, rescuers work on the scene of a building destroyed following recent Russian attacks in Pryluky, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP )
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the media after a German-Ukrainian business forum in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)
