
© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Motorsport.com reports that the engine electrical issues encountered by Mercedes on day 2 of testing were more serious than originally thought and beyond repair.
Valtteri Bottas’ testing session was cut short on Thursday due to an electrical issue. Mercedes didn’t make a big deal of it in their post-race comments, but Motorsport.com now reports that the problem was beyond repair and required an engine change.
It wasn’t the only Mercedes power unit that required a change, though. Williams also ran into trouble with Nicholas Latifi’s engine on the final day of testing.
However Mercedes wasn’t the only manufacturer that had power unit troubles, as Ferrari and Honda also had to change a power unit each, although Honda in the end gave the replaced power unit an all-clear.
This news is no reason for concern, thought, as it is normal to experience difficulties during pre-season testing. The problem however didn’t prevent Mercedes from topping the overall standings in Week 1 of testing and covering the greatest distance of all engine manufacturers.
Source: motorsport.com