© Finn Pomeroy for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Mercedes Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin says if the team swaps Lewis Hamilton’s engine ahead of Abu Dhabi, “something’s gone wrong”.
There have been a lot of rumours this week about the possibility of Mercedes giving Lewis Hamilton another engine in an effort to provide him with more power.
Andrew Shovlin said a new unit is possible only if there is a problem.
“[That’s] not in the plan,” the Briton told Sky Sports F1.
“If we do that, something’s gone wrong. It wouldn’t feel like a good idea. That would only be if we suffered a big problem and, even at that, it wouldn’t be Plan A if we did lose an engine.”
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The plan is for Lewis to run the same “spicy” engine he had in Brazil and Saudi Arabia, but Shovlin says it is not such a big leap from the other engines in the pool.
“It’s not as big a deal as it’s perhaps being made out to be. I think Red Bull were inferring it’s a huge difference. I think Toto [Wolff] did the same at one point.
“It’s a useful step in the right direction, but whether we had it in or not at the last race, it’s not going to cover the kind of gap we were seeing to Max [Verstappen] on a single lap.
“But it’s a step in the right direction,” concluded Mercedes’ chief engineer.
