This season Red Bull Racing has effectively overtaken Mercedes in terms of performance this season and it still looks like Max Verstappen could claim his first Formula 1 title against reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.
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The Briton is pushing the absolute limits, but nothing seems to stop Verstappen. And that’s the main reason the whole world is planning Red Bull’s first championship win since 2013 in 2021.
Despite the chances of a Red Bull triumph, Mercedes does not go down without a fight. Yes, the Brackley team completed development of the W12 with the Hungarian Grand Prix. However, here is something interesting. Mercedes finds a unique approach to defeating its rivals.
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What does Mercedes want to achieve?
Mercedes tries desperately to get more power out of the available engine by increasing certain parameters. Of course, this could increase the risk of loss of reliability later on, but Mercedes takes care that the changes do not make the unit unreliable.
Formula 1 F1 – Italian Grand Prix – Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy – September 10, 2021 Mercedes Lewis Hamilton during practice REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini
To be precise, the crew at the Brixworth test bench is investigating how far you can take the turbo boost and, according to Motorsport, may have found a solution.
Hywel Thomas, Managing Director of Mercedes-AMG HPP, apparently sounded convinced that by expanding certain parameters of the charging system and the hybrid, more power can be achieved without impairing reliability.
Will both drivers run the optimized engine?
No! This turbo tweak is likely to take place in Sochi, but only in Hamilton’s car. Why could you ask?
Well, Bottas recently got his new engine at Monza with a penalty. So Mercedes is not interested in risking experimenting with Bottas with the drive unit.
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Meanwhile there is Hamilton who is still running an almost worn out engine. Therefore, even if the changes destroy the Brit’s engine, he could pick up his motor penalty in Istanbul Park.
Formula 1 F1 – Great Britain Grand Prix – Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Great Britain – July 16, 2021 Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton after finishing first in the sprint race qualifying pool via REUTERS / Lars Baron
On the other hand, if Mercedes succeeds in the test, Hamilton could march into the Turkish Grand Prix with a freshly optimized engine, which will certainly bring him even closer to Verstappen. And then Bottas’s car will also be optimized in Turkey.
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Overall, Mercedes is still in the title race despite the performance battles this season. But will the disadvantage for Mercedes disappear despite the upcoming engine optimizations? Can the Brackley outfit finally recapture Red Bull’s dominance?
View history: Lewis Hamilton: Ranking of his F1 world titles from 2008 to 2020
The post Reports: Mercedes F1 set for more profit from the power unit first appeared on monter-une-startup.
