George Russell FIA penalty decision reached at Singapore Grand Prix

F1 star George Russell looks nervously at the Mercedes W15 with the FIA flag in the background — Photo: © IMAGO

Singapore Grand Prix

George Russell FIA penalty decision reached at Singapore GP

George Russell was summoned by the stewards

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 5 October 2025 09:59 Updated: 16:23

The FIA have announced a penalty decision following an investigation into F1 polesitter George Russell at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Russell stunned the field to take pole ahead of Max Verstappen and both McLarens, after a shock crash during practice on Friday rattled his confidence.

Following qualifying, Russell was summoned to the stewards – alongside Gabriel Bortoleto, Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg – for a yellow flag infringement.

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A yellow flag was waved when Pierre Gasly pulled up on the escape road during the final stages of Q2, with the four drivers above allegedly failing to slow under these conditions.

The penalty for failing to slow under yellow flag conditions in qualifying is a 10-place grid penalty, which can be reduced to five places if a driver makes an attempt to slow, as did Lewis Hamilton at the Dutch GP.

Thankfully for Russell, after investigating the incident, the stewards decided no further action will be taken.

Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto escape FIA penalty in Singapore

After reviewing the data, they found Russell lifted the throttle in the yellow flag zone, regarded as a discernible reduction of speed in accordance with the requirements under yellow flag conditions.

Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto also escaped a penalty for the Singapore GP, after the stewards concluded no further action would be taken on the three drivers.

All three were found to have reduced their speed accordingly under yellow flags, and retain their original place on the Singapore grid.

Speaking after qualifying and his pole position in Singapore, Russell said: "Amazing to be on pole position. Yesterday was a very challenging day for many different reasons but good to come back and get a result.

"A long sweaty race tomorrow but I knew there was potential in the car. Kimi was doing an amazing job all weekend.

"I gained quite a lot to see what he was capable of doing yesterday. Very happy to be on pole.

"Singapore hasn't been the kindest to me in the past, that's been through my own doing the majority of the time.

"I won't get carried away with pole. Of course, it's the best place to start. There's a good pole-side advantage but I like to think I can hold the lead but this guy [Verstappen] is good at race starts and sending it down the inside."

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