Hamilton not ‘giving energy’ to Mercedes F1 engine concerns

Seven-time world champion Hamilton served a 10-place grid penalty at the Turkish Grand Prix after Mercedes opted to take a fourth engine to reduce the risks of him suffering a failure during the title run-in. 

Mercedes has admitted it is trying to “contain” a reliability issue relating to the internal combustion engine, with Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas forced to use three new power units in the past four races. 

Asked if he is concerned about Mercedes’ reliability issues, Hamilton said: “I don’t really give any energy to it, it’s not my job to worry about that stuff. 

“I let the guys focus on that. My engine’s in good condition, my first engine I think did 6 races. We still have engine two and I think engine three is still there as far as I’m aware. 

“Hopefully I don’t have to [take another engine] but I can’t predict what’s up ahead.”

Hamilton recovered from 11th on the grid to finish fifth in Turkey but was left frustrated by Mercedes’ strategy call as he lost the lead of the world championship to main rival Max Verstappen. 

The Briton trails Verstappen by six points heading into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, the first of the six remaining events this year. 

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes retirements, rather than small points swings, will make the biggest difference in this year’s championship showdown. 

“The whole season swings back and forth,” Wolff said. 

“We make mistakes together. We win together. We have much bigger swings in the past with lost opportunities.

“This was a very, very close call. We decided for one thing, and it went wrong.

“At the end, we’ve lost eight points [in Turkey] from Red Bull from a grid penalty. Red Bull [in Russia] were happy with a seven-point loss.

“So it’s going to be very tight until the end. DNFs are going to make a big difference, and that was also a consideration, and not three or four or five-point swings.”