Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA
Breaking news

Mercedes unreliability being "saved" by mechanics - Wolff

Mercedes needs to rectify niggling reliability setbacks and avoid being "saved" by mechanics after Lewis Hamilton's Formula 1 engine and gearbox was removed ahead of French Grand Prix qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the pit lane during practice

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, in the pit lane during practice

Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Hamilton's car required a precautionary sensor change before qualifying but its location gave Mercedes a significant job to complete before qualifying began.

Read Also:

The Mercedes control electronics and energy store in George Russell's Williams was also changed ahead of qualifying, following the previous race in Canada where both works Mercedes suffered minor setbacks and the customer Racing Point of Lance Stroll had a fiery failure.

Asked by Motorsport.com if these pointed to reliability concerns or were coincidental individual problems, team boss Toto Wolff said: "It's individual things happening, and they're not all related to the power unit. They were power unit and chassis.

"Today [Saturday] we had a sensor issue. That was unfortunate because we needed to take the whole engine and gearbox off the car, and then disassemble these little switches.

"You can quickly have a finger problem there, and then you carry a problem into qualifying or the race. This is why the mechanics in the garage have been really diligent.

"They have, on a few occasions now, saved us. And it's something we need to get on top of, that we avoid these issues."

Although Wolff wants Mercedes to be slightly sharper on the reliability front, the team has not suffered any tangible consequences on-track.

Hamilton won in Canada, albeit after a Sebastian Vettel penalty, despite the need for a hydraulics system change in the morning.

In France, Hamilton's car was completed and ready to go in qualifying without a late rush, and the five-time world champion went on to claim pole position.

Hamilton led a Mercedes one-two, narrowly eclipsing Valtteri Bottas, as the team enjoyed a commanding advantage over nearest rival Ferrari.

"I would say that this year, together with Barcelona, that was our strongest showing," said Wolff. "We had some debate before qualifying how much they [Ferrari] had shown in engine power, and how big the gap was.

"We were always relatively confident that this would be one of the better circuits."

Additional reporting by Adam Cooper

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Vettel “didn't have grip” in final Q3 run after upshift mystery
Next article McLaren has no plan to put Alonso back in its F1 car

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

USA