© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes is hoping to get to the end of the 2021 season without having to fit Lewis Hamilton with his fourth power unit, but they are taking it “one race weekend at the time”.
Lewis Hamilton is currently on his third power unit of the season, and the big question is will it last until the end of the season?
If it doesn’t, the engine will have to be swapped, which means Lewis will have to serve a grid penalty and start one of the seven remaining races from the back of the grid.
For now Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says the team is assessing their engines.
“That’s why we’re having a few balls in the air,” said the Austrian.
“Because you need to have the right balance between making sure that you really sort out all the gremlins that you have in the power unit, not only for this year but also for next year’s power unit.
“Definitely, we are in a phase of assessment on how to continue the season in terms of power units.”
If you like SilverArrows.Net, consider supporting us by buying us a coffee!
Valtteri Bottas has swapped two engines in the last two races and Wolff says his Monza power unit will be inspected before the Turkish Grand Prix.
“We want to understand the engine’s performance, and that has given us some question marks. At the moment we just take it one race weekend at the time and reassess the performance of the power unit, and then that’s it.”
When asked if engine reliability is now Mercedes’ biggest concern, Wolff said a DNF is not something the team can afford considering how close the title battle is.
“It’s always reliability versus performance, it’s always a fine line that you need to get right.
“DNFing, obviously, is a no go for the championship and nobody, neither us nor our competitors, can afford a zero points race weekend,” concluded Mercedes’ team boss.
