Mercedes decided to replace George Russell’s power unit before the Formula 1 Hungarian GP, after the water leak identified during Q3 of Saturday’s qualifying (25). Despite the change, the Briton will not lose grid positions.
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The driver had to stop the W17 in the run-off area of turn 1 immediately after completing his last fast lap in qualifying. Subsequently, the driver confirmed that the problem was caused by a water leak in the power unit.
As a preventive measure, the German team opted to install a new internal combustion engine (ICE) in the Briton’s car for this Sunday’s race.
The team explained that the change will not result in a penalty because the competitor will now use their fourth internal combustion unit of the season, exactly the limit allowed by the regulations without losing grid positions.
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“During George’s final lap in Q3, we detected a loss of water pressure in his car and instructed him to stop, as a precautionary measure, as soon as he completed the lap. After a more detailed inspection, we decided to change the power unit before tomorrow’s race, moving to the fourth unit of the season, remaining within the permitted quota,” a Mercedes spokesperson informed.
Finally, Mercedes reinforced that the replacement was made with a component of the same specification, which eliminates any penalty. “As the change was also made to replace a damaged component with another of the same specification, George will not receive a grid penalty,” the team concluded.
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