Speaking of the management of Lewis Hamilton’s power units, Toto Wolff had stated on the eve of the Sochi weekend that the use of a fourth engine for the world champion was not to be taken for granted. A scenario, the one described by Wolff, which would give the world championship leader the possibility of avoiding a start from the back of the grid in one of the seven Grands Prix still on the calendar. Data in hand, the mileage calculation does not make what Wolff said impossible, but after the problems accused by Valtteri Bottas in the Russian trip, the overall picture has changed.
To be feared is no longer a drop in engine performance, but the reliability problem, as confirmed yesterday at Sky Sport F1 by Wolff himself. “We are looking at and studying all the vital parameters of the power units available to Lewis – confirmed the Mercedes team principal – we must be sure not to risk anything on the reliability front. A change of power unit involves a handicap that can be partially recovered with a good race, a second or third place limits the damage a lot. But a retirement would be a serious blow to the overall standings. So the fourth engine is a possibility, but we need to understand where the replacement can be strategic ”.
Ahead of next weekend’s trip to Istanbul, Wolff seemed optimistic about the chances that Hamilton could aim for victory. “In the previous editions, both for us and for Lewis on the Istanbul Park track have arrived important results – confirmed Toto – I remember that Lewis on this track was the protagonist of an incredible race already in GP2, in his first race on this circuit. But by now we have seen that the margins are really small, so it is difficult to get out of balance. I’m certainly very curious to see how this championship will evolve in its final phase ”.
Wolff, on the other hand, did not welcome Stefano Domenicali’s statements with great satisfaction, who in announcing a calendar of 23 races for 2022, also confirmed that there will be 7 or 8 weekends with the ‘sprint qualifying’ format.
“The weekends with the sprint race undoubtedly have an advantage on the commercial front – explained Wolff – since Friday becomes a more intense day thanks to qualifying, Saturday we have a race and Sunday the Grand Prix. But I’m not a big fan of the sprint race as it is now on Saturday, there is little to gain and a lot to risk, because the score is very low and you certainly don’t want to find yourself at the bottom of the grid on Sunday. Perhaps the scoring system, or the length of the race, should be revised. If in the end what matters is the start, we can only do two laps… ”.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, first place, and Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG, celebrate after the race
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images