Not clearly Hamilton has to take an additional F1 engine

The teams enter the final third of the 2021 season and are prepared for possible penalties as they hit their seasonal allocation limit for engine elements.

Red Bull has already confirmed that Max Verstappen will suffer a slump in grid position in a race later this year after losing one of his engines in an accident at Silverstone with title rival Hamilton, but he will strategically do so on a track that is his In my opinion this would allow Verstappen to recuperate places.

Mercedes decided to put Bottas on its fourth engine of the season at Monza, which meant the Finn started the race from the end of the grid despite leading qualifying and winning the sprint race.

However, Mercedes F1 boss Wolff stated that it was not a definitive decision that Hamilton would kick off sometime this year as he still has life in his newest power unit.

“No, that is not an absolute must, because we can still drive very comfortably with this unit,” said Wolff.

“It’s a decision that can be made at any time, but at the moment we don’t think it’s necessary.

“Does that mean we won’t do a fourth race? No, we don’t. We’ll see how the next races develop.”

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG, with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Wolff informed Sky Sports F1 on Friday in Monza that, given the fine gaps between Hamilton and Verstappen and between Mercedes and Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, he was cautious about the impact a DNF could have on the title race.

“We believe that between P1 and P2 with the fastest lap, if you have a DNF, it takes the other four races to catch up,” said Wolff.

“And that’s brutal. So you can afford to finish second four times [place]. So you just really have to play it safe without sacrificing performance. “

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Hamilton added: “Right now I have two engines. And there are currently no plans that I will hopefully have to use an additional engine. But we’ll see.”