Latest Mercedes spec a boost for Force India, Williams
The latest Mercedes Formula 1 power unit upgrade, available to customer teams at the Canadian Grand Prix, allows drivers to run higher performance modes for longer in race situations, according to Force India.
All four drivers from Mercedes customer teams Force India and Williams used the same power unit for the first six races, but all four have now switched to a new ICE, turbo, MGU-H, MGU-K and control electronics from the start of the Montreal weekend.
Works Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas had already changed to the latest specfication, with Hamilton racing it in Spain and Bottas in Monaco, after a problem forced the Finn to revert to his original unit in Barcelona.
“I think it’s more to do with reliability than outright performance,” said Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer.
“The outright performance stuff comes from the fact that you can run it for longer in a more performant mode. But if you’re asking about laptime, it’s nearly the same.
“We can run some of the more performance modes in the race longer, so the race time is shorter – but over a lap, it’s the same.”
In addition to the revised spec, both teams will be able to utilise the fact that they now have three engines with which to run 14 races, assuming there are no failures.
This means that somewhere along the line Force India and Williams should be able to take advantage of the fact that not all their power units will have to run five full race weekends, potentially allowing the engines to be pushed harder for longer.
Share Or Save This Story
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Otmar Szafnauer reveals failed Kimi Raikkonen bid involving "Angry Birds" founders
Esteban Ocon explains why he collided with Sergio Perez so often at Force India
Former Force India F1 boss Fernley dies aged 70
Brennan Poole to leave Alpha Prime Racing; team owners 'disappointed' to see him go
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Winners and losers from NASCAR Cup at Charlotte after dramatic finish
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
'Senior moment' or breakdown of trust? The implications of Hamilton's Singapore GP meltdown
What we learned from the 2026 F1 Singapore GP sprint and qualifying
How Honda plans a return to being an F1 powerhouse
Why Red Bull's 'crazy' power unit success matters so much for F1
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments