By: Singapore Grand Prix Sprint qualifying saw Max Verstappen come out on top in an RB22 that has now become a complete package, superbly driven by the Dutch star.
Leclerc interpreted the Marina Bay circuit superbly, but came up against the SF-26’s inherent limitation: engine power.
At this stage, Mercedes are forced to reject the updates introduced on the W17, which appeared sluggish in the slow-speed corners.
Finally, a second and unprecedented software issue affected many drivers in SQ1.
Comparing Verstappen and Leclerc
Unfortunately, the comparison graph between the pole lap and the third-fastest time set by the Ferrari driver is all too easy to interpret.
Leclerc’s SF-26 is incredibly effective through every corner of the Marina Bay circuit, but wherever there is a straight, however short, the Red Bull outclasses it in acceleration and top speed.
The British team appears to have found the right key to unlock the performance of the RB22 and its power unit, which can finally express its potential even without ADUO.
To put that into perspective, Leclerc was around a tenth of a second ahead of the Dutch driver on the exit of Turn 3 but, by the end of the fast section leading to Turn 7, the SF-26 had conceded more than four tenths purely through engine power.
Leclerc responded with a second sector — the more technical section — whose overall trend fully demonstrated both how effective the driver was in wiping out the deficit and the strength of the SF-26 at this track.
The pattern then followed what had already been outlined. The Red Bull was almost 10km/h faster before Turn 14, a sign that it also runs with less aerodynamic downforce and therefore less drag than the Ferrari.
Does the Mercedes comparison condemn the W17-B?
The gap between the two Mercedes drivers was striking, with Russell on the front row just over a tenth behind pole-sitter Verstappen, while Antonelli was more than half a second adrift.
It is highly likely that the reasons why the Bologna-born driver suffered such a significant gap to his team-mate are multiple and cannot easily be reduced to a rejection of the W17 upgrade package.
However, there are certainly some differences between the two versions in the opening very slow corners of the circuit, where, as anticipated last week, the W17-B appears slightly less effective than the original version.
In the second sector, there is no obvious mistake from Antonelli, but the gap to Russell simply grows corner after corner.
Russell gets back on the throttle earlier than Kimi throughout, which could be interpreted either as greater effectiveness from the pre-modification Mercedes or as a lack of confidence from the Italian driver in the characteristics of the B-spec version, which the team are still trying to fully understand.
On the straights, as suggested by team management themselves, it is also possible that the new Mercedes version has not only more aerodynamic load but also more drag, as shown by the 3-4km/h advantage Russell holds on the straight before the Turn 16-17 chicane.
The difference through the two corners before the final straight is interesting. It probably reveals Kimi Antonelli’s lack of confidence in his car, as he appears to lift earlier than his team-mate while also being less prompt on the throttle on corner exit.
After Sepang, another FIA software bug
The final point concerns the software bug that characterised this weekend’s Sprint qualifying and represents another major weakness of the regulations introduced this year and these power units.
From what we have learned during the season, power unit management software is of enormous importance, but it is not always matched by comparable reliability, as was seen last Sunday.
The most striking case involved Sainz, who was left literally without power on the exit of Turn 8, losing almost a second at that point alone and ruling out any chance of fighting for SQ2.
Cover photo by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT Images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Singapore GP 2026
