Russell to go 'all-out' ahead of unusual Singapore daylight sprint as Antonelli nears F1 title

George Russell needs to throw everything he can at stopping — or even just delaying — Kimi Antonelli’s march to the Formula 1 title. That won’t be easy from the back of the grid at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Russell was third, with Mercedes teammate Antonelli ahead of him in second, when his power unit suddenly failed Sunday during the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, leaving him with a penalty this week for an engine change.

After that, this week it's "all-out attack, just trying to enjoy the weekend," Russell said Thursday. "Obviously not an ideal situation, but Singapore is a place I love and I’ll try and carve my way through the pack.”

With the final sprint race of the season Saturday, Russell and his rivals will have an unusual daylight race on the streets of the southeast Asian city state, before the typical night race Sunday. Qualifying for the sprint race is later Friday.

Russell said Singapore was “probably the second-bottom of the list” in terms of the ease of fighting back after a penalty and predicted he may need to serve another for an engine change before the season is over.

It's a big contrast with the last time Antonelli had to serve a penalty. Mercedes changed his engine for the Italian Grand Prix in a planned move, calculating that overtaking was easy enough at Monza that he could limit the damage. He did far more than that and took a statement victory in his home race.

Antonelli finished second behind Max Verstappen in Malaysia for his sixth podium finish in the last seven races, moving him 84 points clear of Russell in the standings.

With 33 points on offer across Singapore's sprint race and Grand Prix, if Antonelli scores 16 points more than Russell this week, he'd have a shot at sealing the title at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 25.

Lando Norris may have a fix for his McLaren's straight-line speed problem, but this weekend could still spell the end of his title defense if Antonelli outscores the McLaren driver by 18 points. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen could also be eliminated from contention.

Singapore is always a tough test for drivers because of the heat and humidity. This week, add in a haze of air pollution from forest fires in nearby Indonesia, too.

Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas has plenty of first-hand experience of the local conditions after cycling from Sepang to Singapore this week.

There's also a chance of rain affecting the action on Saturday and Sunday. Not only is a wet street track a tricky proposition, but there's extra scrutiny on the cars after software bug on a wet track caused the start to be delayed in Malaysia last week.

The FIA says the software fix which was rushed out for Sunday's race is ready for use again in Singapore and a new version is coming for the United States Grand Prix.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Workers pose for photos during a hazy day ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A gardener waters plants during a hazy day ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy reacts during an interview ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain adjust his cap at the paddock ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Open runner-up Ben Shelton celebrated his 24th birthday Friday by advancing to the third round of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Daniel Altmaier in the ATP 1000-level tournament.

Shelton played Davis Cup for the United States after the U.S. Open, losing both his singles matches, after withdrawing from the Laver Cup team event.

Top-seeded Alexander Zverev, who beat Shelton in the final in four sets at Flushing Meadows, was scheduled to play Chinese wild-card entry Wu Yibing in the next match on the main Stadium Court at Shanghai.

Novak Djokovic, who won the China Open on Tuesday for a 102nd career title, was scheduled to play a night match Friday against Hubert Hurkacz.

In other early results Friday in Shanghai, ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur advanced to the third round on a walkover when his opponent, Alex Molcan, retired with an undisclosed ailment. De Minaur had to retire with an adductor injury in the China Open final against Djokovic.

Also Friday, qualifier Rei Sakamoto beat 23rd-seeded Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4.

No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from Shanghai this week when he announced he was taking the rest of 2026 off due to a right knee injury. Djokovic said Thursday he plans to reach out to Sinner about his injury-plagued season.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, leaves after losing to Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, in the men's singles quarterfinals match of the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)