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Mercedes: "No concern" with Hamilton's engine

15:43, 02 Oct 2018

byNicolás Quarles van Ufford

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin has shut down speculation the engine of Lewis Hamilton's engine having issues, saying "there is no concern" around the Brit's power unit.

In Sochi, Hamilton complained over team radio about inconsistencies in his power delivery from his engine. It sparked some concern around the reigning world champion, as he would have to take a grid penalty, should he need a penalty change.

Shovlin shut these rumours down, though, saying there's nothing wrong at all.

“This isn't really a concern,” Shovlin said on Mercedes' YouTube channel.

“Things like this are normally down to small issues with the mapping of the engine.

“There's certainly no concern about the hardware or whether there will be any issue going forward.

"But, it is an area that we will look at ahead of Suzuka next week.

“We will just make sure we get on top of it and can give him a nice, smooth power delivery.”

Hamilton is already on his third power unit, meaning that any new part will incur a grid penalty for him. With the title race as good as over, Hamilton needs to keep his foot on the gas to put Sebastian Vettel to bed, so he doesn't get the idea that there's still something to be had this year.

A grid penalty would do the opposite of that.

What Hamilton is allowed to do is use previous power unit elements. This is probably the way to go if a part needs replacing, even though it will lead to a dip in performance. Let Lewis work his magic.