Russell out in Melbourne
The slow but constant growth path that Mercedes is pursuing at the start of the 2023 season, which has led the Brackley team to start the year as the fourth force on the track in Bahrain and to be already at the third race, in Australia, on the second step of the podium, however he suffered just in Melbourne a first alarm bell. Waiting to see the much talked about ‘B’ version of the FW14 on the track, in fact, the retirement of George Russell in the Australian GP beginning of April – complete with Mercedes power unit on fire – worried the black-silver team a lot.
The reasons for the stop
From Germany, a couple of weeks after the incident, rumors arrive regarding what happened on the Albert Park track which may perhaps – at least partially – improve the mood of the fans of the Brackley team and George Russell. The technical knockout suffered by the English driver, who was dominating the race before the red flag caused by Alex Albon, would have depended on a debris lodged in the cylinder which would then have been damagedcausing the car to stop and also the subsequent engine fire.
Working to save the power unit
This is the reconstruction leaked by the operational base of Brixworth and reported by the German site Auto Motor und Sport. The debris in question would come from another part of the same Mercedes power unit and not from outside – also because it would be almost impossible for an external component to reach the offending party – but it should not have come loose from any of the sealed components, on which there is a ban on intervening during the season. This could allow Mercedes engineers to try to save the power unitwithout having to discard it altogether.
Unit ‘dedicated’ to free practice
In case the Brixworth men’s operation were to be successful and the engine was actually ‘recovered’, it can however be assumed that Russell would no longer use this race unit, but only in Friday free practice. Otherwise the risk of a new break would be too great. However, this would be good news for the #63 and for his team, given that it would allow the unit chosen for the race to save precious kilometers.
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