Mercedes have revealed their recent flurry of engine changes and resultant penalties have come about amid fears of a “catastrophic” failure late in their tense title battle with Red Bull.
As the world championship enters the final five races, beginning with the Mexican Grand Prix next weekend, Mercedes have received more penalties as a result of power-unit changes than all other teams.
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Alfa Romeo-bound Valtteri Bottas took on a sixth new engine at the United States Grand Prix on Monday (AEDT), while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has had four power-unit changes this season. Many Formula 1 experts, including commentary icon Martin Brundle, expect Hamilton to make another change over the last five rounds, which would hand the Briton a five-place grid drop amid his relentless title fight with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Mercedes are leading Red Bull 460.5 points to 437.5 in the constructors’ championship, while Verstappen (287.5) is placing immense pressure on Hamilton (275.5) as he chases a maiden Formula 1 title.
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Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles has explained the thinking behind the team’s high number of recent engine changes, amid their push to edge Red Bull in both the constructors’ and drivers’ championship fights.
“The reason is that we are balancing performance versus reliability to the end of the season,” Vowles said of Bottas’ three penalties in just four races.
“One failure to finish a race, be it because of a chassis or power-unit fault, would be catastrophic for the championship and, as a result of that, we are managing that in the best way possible to the end of the year.
“In the case of Valtteri, that meant taking one further ICE (international combustion engine) to make sure we had absolutely the best compromise.”
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After being dealt a five-place grid penalty and starting the United States Grand Prix in ninth, Bottas moved through the field to finish in sixth.
The Finn is sitting third in the drivers’ standings on 185 points, ahead of the fourth-placed Sergio Perez of Red Bull on 150.
“As to whether (the engine change) improved (Bottas’) performance – yes, a small amount, but it’s more about the balance across the remainder of the season rather than one event,” Vowles said.
“So this change, as painful as it was during the Austin Grand Prix, will actually pay dividends across the next few races.”
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