Picture Credit: F1
7-time Formula One Champion and leader of the 2021’s Championship Lewis Hamilton will serve a 10-place grid penalty in Sunday’s Turkish GP after taking a new Mercedes engine ahead of the race on October 10. Lewis Mercedes' W 12 engine has been fitted with a new internal combustion engine (ICE), meaning, the English driver has exceeded the allotted limit of three engines in a season.
Hamilton leads the 2021 Formula One Championship by 2 points ahead of the Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. In order to not lose much ground in the tense second half of the season, Mercedes has decided to implement the move at Istanbul Park. Notably, Verstappen started the previous Russian GP from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit but he finished a remarkable second in the race.
Hamilton has only taken new Internal Combustion Engine for the Turkish GP
It has to be noted that the Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has taken only a new Internal Combustion Engine and as he didn’t take other elements like, a new turbocharger, hybrid system, battery and electronics, Hamilton will not start the race at the back of the grid. Before the confirmation of the new ICE engine, Hamilton stated that a fourth power unit of the season was a possibility.
“At the moment, I still have (power unit) number two and three. I do not envision us having to take one at the moment, but that could change,” Hamilton told media ahead of Istanbul race weekend in Turkey on Sunday.
Notably, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz will start the Turkish GP at the back of the grid after taking a new power unit ahead of the race. Sainz has exceeded the permitted power units and a fourth one has pushed the Spanish driver at the rear end of Sunday’s race. His teammate Charles Leclerc took a brand new extended power unit at Sochi.
In the ongoing practice sessions, Lewis Hamilton has finished on the first spot, 0.425 seconds clear of Verstappen, who finished second. Leclerc crossed the line third in FP1, while Valtteri Bottas finished fourth.