Mercedes refuse to rule out future Hamilton power unit penalties
Hamilton has used four engines so far this season
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has hinted the Silver Arrows could "pre-empt a situation" and take further power unit penalties with Lewis Hamilton.
Mercedes has run into difficulties with its PU of late, with Valtteri Bottas taking a sixth internal combustion engine for this weekend's United States Grand Prix and a drop of five places on the grid.
It is the fourth consecutive race the works team has changed power unit components, with Bottas also hit in Italy and Russia, and Hamilton most recently in Turkey
With just six points separating Hamilton and Verstappen in the drivers' standings and only six races remaining, Wolff has not ruled out a further penalty for Hamilton.
“I can’t say whether we will be taking on [a new engine] and the percentages [of where]," said Wolff.
"But obviously the risk is still there and what is difficult to evaluate is 'Do you want to pre-empt the situation and take another penalty and take the hit, or do you want to really run it and risk a DNF?'
“That is a discussion that is happening as we speak and we haven’t come to the right answers yet.”
After first practice at the Circuit of the Americas, Wolff conceded Mercedes engines had "no durability" which could yet have an impact on the destiny of the two titles.
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
British Grand Prix Qualifying
F1 Qualifying Today: British Grand Prix 2026 start times, schedule, TV channel and FREE live stream
Lewis Hamilton
'My team' - Lewis Hamilton issues Ferrari rallying cry at British Grand Prix
F1 British Grand Prix
Max Verstappen sticks boot into Lego F1 cars at British Grand Prix
British Grand Prix Sprint
F1 Sprint Race Today: British Grand Prix 2026 start times, TV channel and FREE live stream
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page