Mercedes' Canada engine upgrade delayed

Mercedes and each of their customer teams will not enjoy an engine upgrade at the Canadian Grand Prix after a "quality issue" pushed the introduction of the new power unit back a race. It means that Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, as well as Force India and Williams' drivers, will race at the power-hungry Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with power units towards the end of their working life.

Mercedes had planned to introduce their second of three permitted power units at exactly the one-third stage of the 2018 season in Canada this week.

However, their engines will have to last for an extra race than originally planned, before the upgrade is released at the French Grand Prix.

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A team spokesperson said: "Although we had hoped to introduce PU2 this weekend, a quality issue means that this has now been delayed by one race.

"So all Mercedes-powered cars will be running PU1 for this weekend, too, before receiving new units in France."

It will be intriguing to see what the lack of upgrade does to all three teams affected.

Ferrari are expected to bring a new PU to Montreal, while Renault and Honda have confirmed that they are bringing updates to Montreal.

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has hinted that Red Bull may not be in line to receive the upgrade, however Christian Horner may well be doubling down in his demands upon news of Mercedes' potential to be underpowered and at risk of unreliability.

Hamilton has dominated the Canadian Grand Prix in recent years, winning the last three to move just one shy of Michael Schumacher's record haul of seven victories in Canada.