Abu Dhabi – Bottas forced to make a new engine change
Before FP3, Mercedes was forced to install a new power unit in Valtteri Bottas's W10 after a problem with his new power unit, installed before the start of the weekend, was discovered following Friday's free practice.
The Finnish driver was already penalized after an engine change following an oil leak in his engine at the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was therefore his fourth engine of the season.
But after Friday’s free practice, Mercedes detected a pneumatic leak on its brand-new power unit (while specifying that it was not related to the contact with Romain Grosjean’s Haas during FP2) and deemed that the leak could not be repaired, wanting to avoid any reliability risk in the race. Therefore, a complete change of its power unit (internal combustion engine, turbo, MGU-K, and MGU-H) was carried out.
With an engine that will only compete in one race, whereas it is designed to compete in 7, Bottas can hope to use it to its maximum for a good part of the race and thus make a comeback from the back of the starting grid.
When asked about race ambitions, Toto Wolff did not have a precise prediction given the difficulty of overtaking on this circuit but considered that a 5th or 4th place would be very satisfying.
