(Motorsport news) Mercedes have installed a sixth Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) in Valtteri Bottas’ car ahead of the United States GP with the Silver Arrows using twice as many engines than the permitted limit in the Finnish racing drivers car. Bottas has had too many penalties in the last few weeks, with fresh power units installed in Italy, Russia and now the USA, which would result in a five place grid penalty.
Team principal Toto Wolff said in an interview “We've unfortunately had since mid year some reliability issues that keep coming back. I think we understand now much better what it is, but it means that there is no durability in running them and that means potential DNFs.The penalty is less than the previous one but it's still not nice because it's such a tight battle. Even if you're on the pole, you're going to have a difficult time to have back."
The unexpected inclusion of a sixth ICE component has raised doubts about Hamilton’s car as well, with only six races to go it’s a genuine possibility that the seven time World Champion may need another replacement to avoid a possible DNF and as a result, incur a grid penalty which would provide Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with an advantage in an already tight title race.
Three Mercedes powered cars will have a grid penalty at the United States GP as Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin and George Russell’s Williams have multiple elements being changed in their engines including Turbos and MGU-Hs. With Bottas incurring a grid penalty, it’s fair to say that we will indeed see a Verstappen vs Hamilton battle for the top spot with six points separating the two drivers at this stage of the season with only six races to go.
