Mercedes-powered drivers move to freshest engines after Hamilton issue
All drivers using Mercedes Formula 1 power units will run their lowest mileage engines for the rest of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
Although some teams were planning to run the freshest power units today anyway, others were obliged to change from its original plans.
The move is understood to be a reaction to the issue that Lewis Hamilton suffered in Friday’s FP2 session, when his car lost power and the F1 world champion was told to stop on the track.
As a precaution Mercedes has ensured that all eight of its cars from the works, McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams teams use the power unit with the lowest duty cycle for the rest of the Zandvoort event while the Hamilton failure is investigated.
At this stage of the season teams generally change the power units at the end of the first day of running anyway, having used the remaining mileage allocation on the oldest ‘Friday’ examples.
On this occasion those who still had a choice were asked to switch to the units in the pool with the lowest duty cycle.
The significance is that some teams were saving the power units that have been used the least for the high demands of Monza and the Italian GP next weekend.
Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi all took new power units at the start of the Belgian GP weekend, but as the race did not run to its full distance those engines are still very fresh. Lando Norris also took a new one in Spa, but it was involved in his qualifying accident, and has not returned to his engine pool yet.
However, Sebastian Vettel’s car has been forced into two power unit changes at Zandvoort.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR21, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21, and Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12, on the grid at the end of FP2
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Vettel’s first engine, which was due to come out at the end of the day anyway, failed during FP1 which created a lengthy red flag.
Another well-used power unit was then fitted for FP2, and ran without problem, meaning it would have usually stayed in the car for the remainder of the weekend.
But following the Hamilton issue in the evening Aston Martin was obliged to make another change and fit the German’s youngest available engine, which was supposed to be held in reserve for Monza.
Related video
Previous article
F1 Dutch GP: Verstappen tops final practice from Bottas and Hamilton
Next article
How F1’s upcoming rule changes are presenting headaches for teams
Why momentum is again behind Australia’s aces
At the Italian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo turned around a troubled F1 season and, in F2, Oscar Piastri demonstrated once again that he is a potential star of the future. BEN EDWARDS weighs up the prospects of F1 having two Australian stars
The tough balancing act facing Schumacher’s Netflix film producers
Michael Schumacher is the latest sporting superstar to get the ‘Netflix treatment’, with a special documentary film airing on the US streaming giant’s platform this month. DAMIEN SMITH has the inside track on how the filmmakers gained access to tell the human story behind one of Formula 1’s most publicity-shy champions - while the man himself, for obvious reasons, is in absentia…
The times that suggest Verstappen should be confident of F1 Russian GP recovery
For the second race in a row, Mercedes has ended the first day of track action on top. It’s in a commanding position at the Russian Grand Prix once again – this time largely thanks to Max Verstappen’s upcoming engine-change grid penalty. But there’s plenty to suggest all hope is not lost for the championship leader at Sochi
The ‘backwards step’ that is the right move for Formula 1
OPINION: With its days apparently numbered, the MGU-H looks set to be dropped from Formula 1’s future engine rules in order to entice new manufacturers in. While it may appear a change of direction, the benefits for teams and fans could make the decision a worthwhile call
The floundering fortunes of F1’s many Lotus reboots
Team Lotus ceased to exist in 1994 - and yet various parties have been trying to resurrect the hallowed name, in increasingly unrecognisable forms, ever since. DAMIEN SMITH brings GP Racing’s history of the legendary team to an end with a look at those who sought to keep the flame alive in Formula 1
Why the 2021 title fight is far from F1's worst, despite its toxic background
OPINION: Formula 1 reconvenes for the Russian Grand Prix two weeks after the latest blow in ‘Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton’. While the Silverstone and Monza incidents were controversial, they thankfully lacked one element that so far separates the 2021 title fight from the worst examples of ugly championship battles
How F1’s other champion to emerge from 1991 thrived at Lotus
Mika Hakkinen became Michael Schumacher’s biggest rival in Formula 1 in the late-90s and early 2000s, having also made his F1 debut in 1991. But as MARK GALLAGHER recalls, while Schumacher wowed the world with a car that was eminently capable, Hakkinen was fighting to make his mark with a famous team in terminal decline
The forgotten F1 comeback that began Jordan’s odyssey
Before Michael Schumacher – or anyone else – had driven the 191 (or 911 as it was initially called), Eddie Jordan turned to a fellow Irishman to test his new Formula 1 car. JOHN WATSON, a grand prix winner for Penske and McLaren, recalls his role in the birth of a legend…
