Former F1 driver Damon Hill has raised serious engine concerns for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in their tight battle for the World Championship with Max Verstappen leading the way by 12 points for Red Bull thanks to winning the United States Grand Prix.
Engine concerns have plagued Mercedes for the past few races, with Valtteri Bottas now on his sixth fresh engine change, while Hamilton was forced to take a new one in Turkey – but Mexico City could prove a new challenge for the British-based German team.
With each engine change, an immediate grid penalty is handed to the driver, and with just five races remaining and trailing by 12 points, Hamilton and Mercedes cannot afford to drop any more points, or worse, suffer a mechanical failure that drops the Briton out of the race.
F1 heads to Mexico next, a track with 2,200-metre altitude – by far the highest of the season – always has a big effect on the performance of the cars.
After that, it’s Brazil, before teams take a step into the unknown to recently added Qatar and Saudi Arabia before the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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Speaking on the podcast F1 Nation while discussing if this was Hamilton’s last chance to fight for an eighth world title, Hill said: “I think the sense was Mercedes and Lewis were quite disappointed not to get that win, because I think they needed it.
“Now we’re going to races where altitude and the fragility of the Mercedes power unit, or at least the ICE [internal combustion engine] anyway might mean they have to turn it down a bit more than they’d want to at that fantastic altitude that Mexico City is at.
“But we don’t know. I think Max will feel like he’s got two fingers on the trophy, it’s not a whole one-handed grip, or even a two-handed grip, but it’s definitely two fingers and he will know that.
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“There are so many mishaps that happen in our sport, and, you know, 25 points on the table for a victory and nothing if you don’t finish.
“That can obviously happen in our sport and it has happened in the past, and it probably will happen to someone between now and the end of the season.
“The question is, will it be Lewis that suffers a DNF or something like that or will it be Max, or will this be a season of Lewis having to claw back that points deficit he has?
“Over the remaining races, he really has to start winning again. It’s eight versus five in victories to Max, so it’s looking like it’s Max’s title at the moment.”
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