F1 News
Wolff on Hamilton's grid penalty: 'Maybe not needed anymore in 2021'.
- GPblog.com
Mercedes have confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will probably not have to take a grid penalty in Mexico for replacing engine parts. The German team believes they have found the main cause of the reliability problem.
Mercedes are suffering from durability problems when it comes to its combustion engine. Valtteri Bottas already had to accept several grid penalties and customer teams McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams are also suffering from this. During the Mexican Grand Prix team boss Toto Wolff came with positive news for Lewis Hamilton. The Austrian is assuming that no new parts are needed for Hamilton's car.
No penalty for Hamilton
"I think we're feeling more robust about one particular issue that seems to be solved," Wolff said as quoted by Motorsport.com. Because overtaking in Formula 1 is a difficult task, Wolff wanted to delay a grid penalty as long as possible. "You can see that Valtteri was absolutely dominant in Turkey, but [in the USA] you just get stuck in traffic with the penalty."
"So we're taking it on the fly. We're deciding, do we need the penalty or are we not needing a penalty? And here certainly we won't take one. And maybe we don't need any until the end of the season. That is really something that is being discussed," Wolff concluded.