(Motorsport-Total.com) – “Realistically, it will be difficult to reach the end of the season with the existing hardware,” says Mercedes’ deputy team principal Bradley Lord. That means: Kimi Antonelli and George Russell must expect to be slowed down by engine penalties at some point in the second half of the season.
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The math leaves him no other conclusion: Antonelli has already reached the limit of allowed parts for engine, battery, control unit, and exhaust set and would receive a penalty at the next change, Russell still has a bit more buffer, but he can no longer afford any mistakes with battery and control unit either (for the complete overview).
“If you look at how many we used in the first half of the season, it is almost inevitable that penalties will be due at some point,” Lord knows. “This is something the strategy team and the guys in Brixworth will work on to find out what the optimal way through the rest of the season is.”
Wolff: Monza would be a good place
When they take a penalty, teams usually have some strategic flexibility because they can decide when to install new engine parts in the car. Since the old parts remain in the available pool, tracks are often chosen where overtaking is easier than on others.
No team would come up with the idea of voluntarily taking a penalty at the next race in Zandvoort, as the way forward would be very difficult. It looks different in Monza, which might not be the best choice emotionally for championship leader Antonelli, however.
“There could be one that is very special for Kimi, but on paper it looks like a good place to take an engine penalty,” admits Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff. “So we have to talk to Marco (Kimi’s father; editor’s note) about whether we want to take an engine penalty in Monza.”
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At least that could take some pressure off the youngster’s shoulders at the home race, he says with a smile. “Maybe also Baku,” he adds. “But I still hope that we don’t have to take an engine penalty. But our reliability simply wasn’t good, and whether we take a penalty or not, we will see.”
Many problems at Mercedes
Mercedes has already struggled with technical problems several times this season and only brought both cars into the points in two of the last seven races. Above all, the engine problems with Russell in Canada and Antonelli in Barcelona were bitter for the team as they cost important points from promising positions.
“We initially had some challenges with the ERS and the entire electronics system,” says Lord. “These were closely related problems responsible for the retirements in Canada and Barcelona, and we believe they have been largely solved with the reliability update we brought after Austria.”
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Added to this were the loose brake ventilation in Silverstone for Antonelli as well as further difficulties in the chassis area. “There were a number of different elements we had to get under control. But the most frequent was the concern with the ERS package,” says Lord.
“A lot of hard work has gone into the many, many corrections included in this latest specification that we brought after Austria.”
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