Mercedes reveal Hamilton risked not starting Canadian GP
Mercedes reveal Hamilton risked not starting Canadian GP
Mercedes have revealed that Lewis Hamilton remained at risk of failing to start the Canadian Grand Prix after finding a hydraulic leak after qualifying, which required fixing on race morning. Had any additional issues sprung up, The Silver Arrows say Hamilton may well not have taken part.
Hamilton inherited victory in Montreal after battling Sebastian Vettel, who crossed the line first but was hit with a five-second penalty for an unsafe manoeuvre in front of the reigning champion.
It was the Brit's seventh Canadian GP record, equalling Michael Schumacher's record in the event and also making it his most successful race in his career.
However, he came close to not taking part at all, as revealed by trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
"The issue is that the cars are in parc ferme overnight," Shovlin said on Mercedes' debrief video. "we're not allowed to touch them or to investigate it further.
"So that investigation moved to Sunday morning when we're allowed to access the cars again and mechanics can work on them.
"We had to take the power unit out. We traced the leak to the throttle actuator and then we made a request to the FIA to change the throttle actuator and some of the associated hydraulics.
"That work was quite a big job. There's a lot to do in that and it was pretty tight to get Lewis' car back together for the start of the race.
"We're fairly happy we can do the work in that time; the issue when you have an unknown fault or a leak is that you don't know how long it's going to take to find it and investigate it, [but] we were able to get the car back together.
"Where we were at risk was if we fired up and found another problem. If the engine had to come out again, that's where we would've got short on time and perhaps not even been able to start the race.
"But it was a great job by all the mechanics involved and quite happily the car was back together in time and finished the race successfully."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Newey Red Bull EXIT date revealed as F1 star confirmed at new team - GPFans F1 Recap
- 21 minutes ago
Verstappen takes F1 swipe at Hamilton and rivals with ruthless remark
- 1 hour ago
Marko defends Ricciardo in 'unbelievable' idiot claim
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton hints at sensational Newey arrival at Ferrari
- 3 hours ago
Suspended Red Bull employee 'grilled' as Horner saga given potential END DATE
- Yesterday 19:57
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
- Yesterday 18:58
Related news
Incredible statistic puts Verstappen AHEAD of Hamilton record
Fierce rival calls Hamilton F1's GOAT in surprise admission
Hamilton sends strong message over Gaza deaths
Former F1 chief hits out at Hamilton 'EXCUSES'
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860