Mercedes Force to Turn Down Power Unit for ‘Unusual’ Mexico Track
Mercedes were forced to reduce the performance of their engine, due to over-heating problems in Mexico. Mercedes’s technical boss James Allison said that this track has provided them with more hurdles than any other track. “This is an unusual track, which places unusual demands on the chassis, power unit, cooling systems and tyres”, he said. Allison was pointing out to the fact that the high altitude of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, was the major issue.
The weather forecast however, on the race day, has been indicating cooler conditions to prevail, which might be a bonus for the Mercedes team. Meanwhile, James Allison believes that there is still a lot of work to be done, and that Mercedes have got their hands full. “With a bit of luck, and no little hard work, we can get ourselves into better shape (Saturday) and on Sunday, when conditions are also forecast to be cooler,” said James Allison. “We have plenty of work ahead of us and in FP3 to put ourselves in a stronger position than we were able to achieve”, he added.
Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were unsatisfactory with their performances, ending up in the seventh and ninth positions yesterday. However, they will look to improve on those numbers as Lewis Hamilton will look to get a good head start to finish as the champion in Mexico, and secure a fifth F1 title in his career.