The Mercedes F1 power unit still has some reliability issues for the remaining six rounds of 2021, but team representative Toto Wolff does not introduce new parts and limits the issues as much as possible. He says he has a policy of doing so.
Towards the end of the 2021 season, the Mercedes F1 has a powerful engine and is straighter and faster than its rival Red Bull’s Honda F1 power unit.
On the other hand, the Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas engines have many reliability issues. Toto Wolff explains that not all problems can be solved.
“At this point we can only limit the problem and try to find a reasonable solution,” Toto Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport.
Toto Wolff says it’s too late to solve the problem with new, more reliable parts.
“It doesn’t make sense to make new parts anymore”
The Mercedes F1 is in a situation where it cannot hide the problems of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Bottas, in particular, suffers from engine reliability issues.
Valtteri Bottas is already running a fifth engine, and Lewis Hamilton is launching a fourth engine at the F1 Turkish Grand Prix. One of Hamilton’s older engines may become unusable in the race. The third engine introduced in Belgium has only completed three races, but “it has not yet been decided if the engine can be used in another race,” Toto Wolff said.
Still, Mercedes’ F1 power unit has a straight advantage in the last few races. Toto Wolff says he is leveraging the learning curve throughout the season.
“There were still problems at the beginning of the year, but the combination with the rules gave me a better understanding of the car. The different settings made it faster than in the spring and summer,” said Toto Wolff.
Category: F1 / Mercedes
