[raceweekendpromotion]Lewis Hamilton says he does not yet know if he will face a penalty at this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix amid rumours Mercedes will change part of his power unit again.
The world champion, who goes into this weekend’s race 19 points behind Max Verstappen, has already exceeded his maximum allocatiuon of power unit parts once. He took a fourth internal combustion engine in Turkey, incurring a 10-place grid penalty.If he takes a fifth engine he will face a five-place grid drop at Interlagos, as his team mate Valtteri Bottas did at the United States Grand Prix.
Bottas has used six internal combustion engines over the 2021 season so far as Mercedes endeavoured to address a reliability problem with their power units. Hamilton was therefore expected to need another at some point during the final races.
Asked ahead of this weekend’s race whether he will need a new engine, Hamilton said: “I can’t really comment at the moment, I don’t know.”
“I don’t think the engines have even arrived this morning,” he added. Several teams have experienced delays to the arrival of freight from the previous round in Mexico.
“So as far as I’m aware, currently my engines are fine,” Hamilton continued. “But I’ll find out, obviously, later on. We’ve not even done engineering yet.”
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Power unit components used so far
| No. | Car | Engine | Driver | ICE | TC | MGU-H | MGU-K | ES | CE | EX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77 | Mercedes | Mercedes | Valtteri Bottas | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 14 | Alpine | Renault | Fernando Alonso | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 31 | Alpine | Renault | Esteban Ocon | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 11 | Red Bull | Honda | Sergio Perez | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 10 | AlphaTauri | Honda | Pierre Gasly | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 33 | Red Bull | Honda | Max Verstappen | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 22 | AlphaTauri | Honda | Yuki Tsunoda | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 55 | Ferrari | Ferrari | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 16 | Ferrari | Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | McLaren | Mercedes | Lando Norris | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Aston Martin | Mercedes | Sebastian Vettel | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | Aston Martin | Mercedes | Lance Stroll | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | McLaren | Mercedes | Daniel Ricciardo | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 31 | Williams | Mercedes | Nicholas Latifi | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 63 | Williams | Mercedes | George Russell | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 44 | Mercedes | Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | Kimi Raikkonen | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 99 | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | Antonio Giovinazzi | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 47 | Haas | Ferrari | Mick Schumacher | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Haas | Ferrari | Nikita Mazepin | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
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2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
- Red Bull and Mercedes summoned to FIA hearing on review of Sao Paulo incident
- McLaren must “get back to scoring the results that are on the table” – Seidl
- Hamilton makes his second-biggest climb to victory from 10th on the grid
- F1 releases missing video footage from Verstappen’s car of Hamilton incident
- How Alonso and Ocon “pushed team tactics to the ultimate limit” to delay Gasly
Alex
11th November 2021, 16:28
This question about Lewis engine has been asked countlessly. It’s getting boring.
Patrick (@anunaki)
11th November 2021, 16:33
Bottas took his 5th engine in Sochi and his 6th in USA
jff
11th November 2021, 18:47
I assume it’s just referring to the penalty statement.
petebaldwin (@)
11th November 2021, 16:34
Tough decision – ultimately it should come down to whether they think he can last the remainder of the season or not. If not, it’s a good race to change some parts as Mercedes should have no trouble getting past cars with DRS on the huge straight. Qatar and Saudi Arabia don’t look like great tracks to overtake on and you don’t want to be taking a penalty at the final race.
Andy (@andyfromsandy)
11th November 2021, 17:40
Recall how Hamilton failed in his drag race with Gasly. I can’t remember when that was now.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
11th November 2021, 18:14
2019 @andyfromsandy, the last time we raced at this track. But on every lap other than the last one you’ve got the run to the first corner as well, with the benefit of an added slipstream as you don’t need to pull out so soon. I also think they were without DRS as the safety car had only just come in – so under normal circumstances I think Hamilton would have been easily past.
Kribana (@krichelle)
11th November 2021, 21:20
@andyfromsandy
That was because the W10 had a lot of drag. That was the draggiest Mercedes car in the hybrid era, but it had the best downforce and tyre management by a huge margin over all the other cars in 2019. This Mercedes is maybe the one with the least drag since 2017. Also, they did not have DRS since that was just after a safety car period.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
11th November 2021, 21:38
@krichelle Hamilton also had some flailing bits on his front wing which won’t have helped the drag.
OlaRay
12th November 2021, 8:24
Gasly was on the grippy racing line, Lewis was on the tight inside and dirty line
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
11th November 2021, 16:43
I’m on the edge of my …
Nah, just kidding.
Barry Bens (@barryfromdownunder)
11th November 2021, 16:52
The biggest question is how Lewis manages to wear glasses and a facemask without his glasses getting fogged. That’s the thing I want to know
Simon
11th November 2021, 17:26
Ange is on hand to wipe his glasses when they fog up of course 🤣
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
11th November 2021, 18:14
@barryfromdownunder I would also like an answer to that if anyone has one? (I appreciate this isn’t what this thread is about). I’m sick of mask on, sunnies off / sunnies on, mask off. Surely there’s something I can put on the lenses? Someone must have the answer, or else Lewis is all fogged up in there and not too bothered about seeing where he’s going.
Aapje (@aapje)
11th November 2021, 18:54
@bernasaurus
There is an anti-fog spray that is supposed to work.
jff
11th November 2021, 18:54
It doesn’t happen when I wear a mask and sunnies.
I guess making sure the mask fits snugly at the top (bend the metal strip) will do it. I also wear my sunnies (can’t be small ones) over my mask to make sure it closes where the upper cheek is.
I’ll post later about my recommendation on ’what to wear’ ;)
Bob C,
11th November 2021, 18:57
@bernasaurus
Don’t know if this helps, if you are talking about sunglasses that go on and off, but, for what it is worth:
When masks were mandatory on public transport in my country (they are currenty not, but will probably soon be again), I hated spending almost 1 1/2 hours train commute with fogged-over glasses. A small strip of surgical tape (easy on the skin, easy to remove) to seal the gap at the top of the mask solved the problem 100 %.
pastaman
11th November 2021, 18:22
If it’s pulled far enough up the bridge of your nose, it won’t fog up. Notice that’s how he is wearing his
ppzzus (@ppzzus)
12th November 2021, 6:09
Lewis has his own clothing lines etc. I’m sure they have made him custom masks that fit his face snugly and forced the air downward instead up into the glasses.
G (@unklegsif)
12th November 2021, 9:26
FYI, if anyone wears glasses that use thin, lightweight lenses with the various special coatings on (ergo, expensive), DO NOT use the washing up liquid “hack” to stop fogging. The salt in the washing up liquid attacks the coatings, causing it to peel off and you’ll very quickly have knackered your lenses completely
Ask me how I know – go on
Jere (@jerejj)
11th November 2021, 16:57
Toto already implied he wouldn’t need more after Mercedes had solved their issues that had also slightly hampered customer teams, so this extra engine change speculation is getting boring.
Rich#4131
11th November 2021, 18:04
Agreed
Mashiat (@mashiat)
12th November 2021, 7:37
@jerejj The reports that are claiming this have stated that Mercedes believed they had sorted out the issues but noticed another anomaly during the Mexican GP. I don’t know how valid these reports are, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out yet.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
11th November 2021, 17:15
Controversial, but Red Bull should mirror anything Hamilton does for Verstappen. A DNF is so much more costly than finishing one race behind the other.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th November 2021, 18:13
@hahostolze interesting argument.
someone or something
11th November 2021, 19:27
@hahostolze
I think the best approach for Red Bull would is “do the opposite of Hamilton”, instead of mirroring him. If Hamilton does take an engine penalty this weekend, and Red Bull have the pace to beat Bottas and win the race, they should probably focus on getting those points and increasing Verstappen’s lead to 26 points (or more). With that in the bag, they can still decide if they want to take an extra engine in Jeddah or Abu Dhabi (Losail doesn’t look very overtaking-friendly).
If they have any concerns about reliability, that is.
ajaya
11th November 2021, 17:17
i think the only thing that should be in the calculation right now for Merc is the WCC..
WDC is lost, unless RBR engine gives up.. Max (as of today) like LH does not make mistakes.. so driver err is out of the question.
Alan Dove
11th November 2021, 18:09
eerr.. no it isn’t lost at all.
ajaya
11th November 2021, 21:52
agreed, but prority wise , i think WCC there is a better chance
pastaman
11th November 2021, 18:24
Just like driving on the road, sometimes it’s other people’s mistakes that gets you in an accident. Or maybe he gets Ocon’d again
Jere (@jerejj)
11th November 2021, 18:50
@pastaman Indeed. Anything’s possible in F1 & stranger things have happened.
cdfemke (@cdfemke)
12th November 2021, 1:45
Like last time around where a bavkmarker crashed into him on this circuit
MCG (@malrg)
12th November 2021, 5:41
Indeed, exactly how Ver has been taken out of two races this season by Merc
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
11th November 2021, 18:18
I had the sense he’d be taking a new engine along with penalties after watching the race last weekend. Perez breathing down his neck along with the elevation didn’t help. These engine penalties can really have an impact on multiple races.
RandomMallard (@)
11th November 2021, 18:37
@freelittlebirds I’ve been thinking for a while that the most obvious place for Hamilton to take one would be Sao Paulo. The 3 tracks I’ve had in mind as the easiest for overtaking (especially for Merc) were Turkey, where of course he did take one but was hampered by the rain, USA (but that’s one where they knew beforehand they could, and were, fighting for the win, so wouldn’t really make sense), and Sao Paulo. As you mention, Mexico did seem like Merc may have been running into a few troubles, although they were still very quick in S1, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they take a penalty.
JL (@j-l)
11th November 2021, 18:53
F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli said on twitter that they are going to change it. Don’t know how reputable she is.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
11th November 2021, 19:03
Yes, Toto always gets her opinion before changing engines, drivers, or strategies.
JL (@j-l)
11th November 2021, 19:22
Brazilian TV Band reporting the same thing.
Qeki (@qeki)
11th November 2021, 21:25
His tyres have been gone since 2007 and now now he doesn’t even know where his engines are. ;)
Fred Fedurch
11th November 2021, 23:11
CotD
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
11th November 2021, 21:27
Um I’m not sure. Can Lewis really afford to start in 5th or 6th if Max is on pole? He desperately needs more points than Max at this stage not less. I realise he may have to change his engine at some point.
I imagine Merc will avoid it if they can.
MCG (@malrg)
12th November 2021, 5:45
Lewis can not afford to start behind Max, regardless of where or by how many places
F1andrea
11th November 2021, 22:47
33 comments this news? With this 34..sorry, is just a tentative to take away bad luck 🙏
someone or something
12th November 2021, 12:42
Well, it’s 44 now. Or rather: was …
papaya
12th November 2021, 9:28
Mercedes’s successive run of “Best Hybrid PU” fairy tale has officially ended this season. Honda is now the most reliable, most efficient hybrid PU ever built. Who would’ve predicted this day during McLaren-Honda period?
Constantijn Blondel
12th November 2021, 12:07
Caption for the image:
“It’s not a phase mum, it’s who I HAM!”