F1 News
Valtteri Bottas to face grid penalty in Abu Dhabi?
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
After retiring with mechanical issues during the Brazilian Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas could be facing a grid penalty in Abu Dhabi next week, as it remains unconfirmed whether the faulty engine is salvageable.
Bottas caused the first of two Safety Cars on the day at Interlagos, parking his W10 on lap 53 after his engine turned off. It came as no surprise, seeing as there had been coming smoke out of the back of the car in the previous lap, although Bottas reported no loss of power.
He pulled over at the end of the back straight, causing a Safety Car.
The last race of the season in Abu Dhabi has no implications for Mercedes as both championships have been wrapped up already by the German works team, but Bottas might have to take a penalty depending on whether his engine is salvageable.
“We don't know any more about it,” technical director James Allison told Motorsport.com.
“We know that we had elevated oil consumption during the race that ran away very sharply - very sharply - about half a lap before we saw it expire. The engine stopped itself rather than expired in a heap.”
Bottas himself added he doubts "there are any miles left" on older power units, but there will not be any confirmation of what engine will be used until next Tuesday.
Should he need a new power unit, it would mean a 10-place grid penalty as he would be going over the limit of power units, which is three. The same happened to Charles Leclerc in Brazil as he started 14th after qualifying fourth.