Mercedes: 'If Hamilton loses engine, new power unit not plan A'

There were some rumours in the paddock on Thursday that Mercedes might consider giving Lewis Hamilton a new engine this weekend so that he could open the attack on Max Verstappen on Sunday. Andrew Shovlin dismisses these rumours, however.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Mercedes top man was asked if a fresh power unit was a possibility. "Not on the plan. If wrong we do that something has gone. That will only be if we suffer a big problem and even that would not be Plan A if we lose an engine." So a grid penalty due to an engine change seems all but ruled out.

In the first free practice session, the German formation also completed a long run. "That looked good, but there are areas we still need to find a solution for," Shovlin told the British television channel. He doesn't say which areas they are. Red Bull Racing is not being made any wiser than they already are.

Track gets even hotter

The race simulation of the first free practice session is not entirely representative. The track will probably be 7 to 8 degrees warmer on Sunday, so the degradation will also be higher. Thanks to the changes made to the Yas Marina Circuit, tyre wear will be much lower compared to previous seasons, but we will have to wait for information from Pirelli for exact predictions of tyre life and the best strategies.