Mercedes denies rumours about Hamilton changing combustion engine
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Earlier today there were rumours about Lewis Hamilton's combustion engine. According to Brazilian media, the Brit would have to change his engine again during the Brazilian Grand Prix, which would give him a grid penalty for the race. Mercedes itself now denies the rumours.
A grid penalty could have major consequences for the championship with Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen. Still, Brazil seems to be the best option to take another grid penalty this season, as this weekend another sprint race takes place and overtaking on the circuit is quite easy. Reliability seems to have been a problem for Mercedes for a while now though, as Valtteri Bottas has also changed quite a few parts so far.
Mercedes contradicts the rumours about Hamilton swapping the combustion engine. Auto, Motor und Sport reports that the team is not giving any information about its engine plans for the upcoming race weekend, as it usually does. "We don't have any grid penalties to report yet," Mercedes let us know.
Mercedes waits for Friday
According to AMuS, this could indicate that Mercedes wants to wait until Friday. A possible engine change could depend on the result in the qualifying on Friday evening. On Saturday another sprint race takes place, which gives the team more options. In any case, the change doesn't seem urgent and the team thinks it can finish the season without grid penalties.