Mercedes Addresses Power Unit Problems After Car Retirement In Sao Paulo

Friday, 10 November 2023 at 03:00

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Mercedes’ head of trackside performance, Riccardo Musconi, addressed concerns about the power unit after George Russell's DNF during the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend was definitely one of the weakest weekends for Mercedes, as George Russell said after the race.

The team lacked pace for many reasons. The main reason seemed to be that all the teams had only one practice session before qualifying to adjust their cars, and Mercedes chose the wrong set-up.

Everything else kind of evolved from there. Mercedes cars lacked pace on the straights as well as grip in corners which resulted in weaker performance compared to main rivals like Aston Martin and Ferrari.

To top things off, Russell had to retire his car not long before the end of the race due to an overheating power unit. Asked whether the power unit will be okay for the two remaining races, Riccardo Musconi said: f

"In a nutshell, yes. George will be on different power units for the next two races as was originally allocated, so there is no issue from that point of view."

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Fortunately for Mercedes, the race at Interlagos Circuit was the last that the power unit had to serve, and Russell won't be driving with it anymore.

"The power unit used in Interlagos was meant to be its last race weekend, so why did we retire his car?"

Some might say, why not run the risk and drive the car with an overheating power unit until the end of the race? But Musconi explained the strategic thinking behind the decision.

"We started seeing some pressures and temperatures that were quite worrying and it got to a point where we were quite convinced it was about to fail. To avoid a possible fire and damage other parts of the car, the logical conclusion was to retire the car."

Basically, by retiring the car, Mercedes potentially saved money on other parts that would be damaged if the power unit caught on fire or exploded.