© Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Toto Wolff says “one particular issue” with Mercedes’ engines “seems to be solved”, and Lewis Hamilton might not need another engine swap in 2021.
Mercedes has been having troubles with its engines leading to the team swapping several units in the last few races.
While Red Bull is hoping another swap will be needed for Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says that might not be the case.
“I think we’re feeling more robust about one particular issue that seems to be solved,” the Austrian said.
“I think it’s never right to take a penalty, because these days it’s so difficult to overtake. You can see that Valtteri was absolutely dominant in Turkey, but [in the USA] you just get stuck in traffic with the penalty.
“So we’re taking it on the fly. We’re deciding, do we need the penalty or are we not needing a penalty? And here certainly we won’t take one.
“And maybe we don’t need any until the end of the season. That is really something that is being discussed.”
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Although after Friday’s Mexican Grand Prix FP1 and FP2 Red Bull seems to be ahead of Mercedes, Wolff says it is not over yet.
“[Mexico] was never such a happy place for us in terms of car performance, although we love Mexico because we’re so welcome.
“We don’t seem to find the sweet spot and so we were chasing various directions [in practice]. On a positive note, our engine is performing well.
“There was a little bit of a gap in the years before, and that’s fine. I think for us, it’s about doing the best possible job.
“But maybe that is difficult with Max’s performance,” concluded the Austrian.
