'Mercedes may give Hamilton's stronger engine to Alonso'

A very wild rumour is rearing its head: Mercedes' poor season start and Fernando Alonso's strong season start at Aston Martin is said to have triggered thoughts at Mercedes to bet full on its customer team's championship.

Aston Martin starts stronger than Mercedes

The British Express.com tells a story about Mercedes which would amount to a massive slap in the face to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Briton was hoping to go for his eighth world title with Mercedes, but the team has been disappointing greatly since last year. Mercedes did not get off to a good start in 2023 either. Not only were the results disappointing, there seems to be a lot of internal dissatisfaction about the car and a lot of unrest in the organisation.

The fact that customer team Aston Martin, with Alonso behind the wheel, did have a good winter and ended up on the podium in the first race has given rise to some wild thoughts at Mercedes. At least, Express reports, "Mercedes chiefs are said to be willing to pay more attention to giving Alonso the fastest engine if their own car fails to perform in the next two races, which take place in Saudi Arabia and Australia."

Mercedes engine as champion, at least?

This would mean that if, after the Australian GP, the comparisons between the teams are still the same, Mercedes would be willing to put more time into the engine for their customer than into their own team; in the hope that at least the Mercedes engine would still be champion. In doing so, Mercedes would also prefer its star driver's former rival to Hamilton himself.

The medium thinks this switch to Aston Martin could take place quickly by moving the strongest engine currently owned by Hamilton to the Aston Martin garage. This is because Hamilton's engine now delivers up to three kilowatts or about four horsepower more than Alonso's. If this wacky scenario comes true, Aston Martin and Mercedes will face off against Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen with combined forces. If they still lose then, the defeat will be all the greater for Mercedes.