Lewis Hamilton has expressed his concern about the situation of Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who could face sanctions later in the Formula 1 season. The seven-time world champion has highlighted the reliability issues within the team, which could result in a more significant penalty for the use of engine components.
This season start has been difficult for Mercedes, with incidents in previous races leading to withdrawals. Hamilton, while acknowledging Ferrari’s improvements in terms of reliability, has focused on the need for Mercedes to adjust its processes. ‘In every race, we are learning, and the team is working hard to improve,’ he commented.
So far, both Russell and Antonelli have had a withdrawal due to electronic issues, and Hamilton fears that this problem may continue to affect them. ‘We see that this year the power units have had more problems than usual. At some point, there should be a sanction,’ Hamilton declared.
Use of engine components
For the 2026 season, each driver can use a maximum of four internal combustion engines, turbochargers, and exhausts, in addition to three kinetic motor generators and other electrical components. Currently, both Mercedes and Ferrari have used the same number of electrical components for their engines, but it is unknown which ones are left in reserve and which cannot be reused.
Recently, Lance Stroll received a sanction for exceeding the allowed number of engine elements, a situation that could be repeated if Mercedes does not manage the remaining resources well. If teams begin to acquire a limited number of components, penalties could become a recurring issue, as happened in the early years of the F1 hybrid era.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
