Russell raced worn Mercedes parts in Singapore after Sprint crash depleted team's spare inventory

George Russell completed the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix in a Mercedes W17 rebuilt from second-hand parts after his Saturday Sprint crash exhausted the team’s entire inventory of fresh carbon fibre spares, according to a report from German outlet Auto Motor und Sport.

The collision with the barriers during the Sprint left the Brackley squad facing a substantial overnight repair job. Mechanics were required to replace the front wing, floor, front suspension, and the entire rear section of the car — a workload so extensive that the team ran out of brand-new components before the rebuild was complete.

With no factory-fresh parts available, engineers sourced previously used pieces from the back of the garage to get Russell’s car ready for Sunday’s race. Although the scavenged components matched the exact aerodynamic specification of new ones, AMuS noted that carbon fibre degrades with use: floors pick up wear from contact with the track surface, suspension arms absorb punishment over kerbs, and the cumulative effect is a measurable reduction in raw performance compared with fresh parts.

The revelation adds context to team principal Toto Wolff’s post-race framing of Russell’s ninth-place finish as successful “damage limitation.” Russell had started 19th on the grid after absorbing a 60-place engine penalty, and the climb through the field on a tight street circuit was complicated further by a soft brake pedal and a ruptured drinks bottle that left him soaked in fluid for the duration of the two-hour race.

The used-parts situation is unrelated to any question of team preference between Russell and rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli. The components fitted to Russell’s car were aerodynamically identical to new ones — the performance deficit stemmed solely from material fatigue accumulated over previous race weekends, not from a specification difference.

Russell’s points finish, under the circumstances, now looks considerably more resilient than the raw result suggested.