There are no intentions for Lewis Hamilton to use a new engine in the Mexican Grand Prix, according to him.
After experimenting with different engine modes in Friday’s opening practice session, Lewis Hamilton has dismissed speculation that he and Mercedes are planning to take a grid penalty at the Mexican Grand Prix.
During FP1 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Hamilton backed up teammate Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes 1-2, until Max Verstappen and Red Bull took the lead in the afternoon practice.
Hamilton was asked if Mercedes had turned up their engines in FP1 in preparation for another grid penalty this weekend, but he dismissed the suggestion, saying no such plans existed.
“A penalty? No. We go through our modes to practice our modes, but we don’t have any penalties coming,” said Hamilton, who is running his fourth Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) of the season, with five races remaining.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ CEO, hasn’t ruled out the possibility that Hamilton could need to switch to a new ICE before the season is through.
Given that Hamilton has already exceeded his ICE allocation, adding a fifth ICE to his car would result in a five-place drop. If other aspects of his power unit are changed, however, he will face additional penalties.
Mercedes leads Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship by 23 points heading into this weekend’s Grand Prix, while Hamilton trails Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings by 12 points.
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