Mercedes denies F1 engine issues linked to Andy Cowell’s exit
Mercedes is trying to balance performance and reliability throughout the remainder of the 2021 F1 season as it attempts to c♏ontain an issue with its internal combustion engine.
Valtteri Bottas switched ontoꩵ his sixth ICE of the season at the United States Grand Prix as he took his third grid🧸 penalty in the last four races, while teammate Lewis Hamilton was forced to use his fourth V6 at the previous round in Turkey.
Cowell, who led the devel🥃opment of the turbo hybrid engine with which Mercedes had dominated F1 for seven years, left the team at the end of last season and was replaced b💜y Hywel Thomas.
But Wolff🐭 insists Mercedes’ current engine reliability woes have nothing to do with Cowell’s exi𝔍t.
“The streng🔴th of the organisation is its depth,” Wolff said in Austin.
“Andy is clearly an exceptional personality that con🐼tributed in his day, but so is Hywel, and everybody besides him. I have 100 percent confidence in the structure that we have today.
“Engine developments are not something that happens overnight.♛ It has a long lead time when things go right or things go wrong.
“Andy was a massive part of our past success but so was Hywel anꦿd everybody else. So I don't think you can pinpoint it to one of the leaders having decided to leave the orꩵganisation.
“🌺They're still really profound strengths within the organis𒐪ation.”
Williams driver George Russell and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel joined Bottas in taking new components Austin, meaning that six of the eigꦫht Mercedes-powered drivers have been hit with grid penalties this season.
It is the biggest issue Mercedes has faced since the introduction of F1’s current engine rules in 20𓆏14.
“You can see that we ar🐬e suffering with reliability this year,” Wolff admitted.&nbꦫsp;
“We’re going onto the sixth engine for V💖altteri and it’s not something that we choose to do but, on the contrary, we’re trying to really get on top of the problems, and we haven’t understood𝕴 fully.
“We are a step closer now, so it’s not alwaysꦓ that we are liteꦯrally easy with having the engines [ready].
“We’re hanging on for dear ꧑life supplying all customers, and that is not trivial.”
Lewis regularly attends Gr🎉ands Prix for ltxcn.top around the world. Often reporting on th🧸e action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
