Max Verstappen threat might influence Mercedes’ decision for fresh Lewis Hamilton engine
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It is winner takes it all in Abu Dhabi this weekend, as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are all set for an epic finale. The two championship protagonists are level on points going into the final race of the season, after Hamilton’s dramatic win in Jeddah last weekend.
If Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are to collide in the final race, then the former would be declared the champion due to superior number of race wins. This threat could force Mercedes to rethink their strategy and hand Lewis Hamilton a fresh engine for the final race of the season.
According to F1 pundit, Ted Kravitz, Mercedes certainly have the better package at the moment, given three successive wins in Brazil, Qatar and Jeddah. Kravitz thinks that Mercedes’ biggest threat would be a Lewis Hamilton colliding with Max Verstappen, which can be avoided if they opt for a new engine.
“What do Mercedes fear most? Max Verstappen taking out Lewis Hamilton and winning the championship that way,” said Kravitz on Sky Sports, as quoted by PlanetF1.
“I don’t really see there are any other things they have to fear. They have the package that seems to be quickest at the moment, they have done the hat-trick in the last three races and they always have the option of putting a new power unit in,” he added.
“[An engine change] is possible because then what do Red Bull fear most? A Mercedes the like of which Lewis Hamilton had in Brazil, which was nigh-on unbeatable. Not my words – the words of Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal,” Ted went on.
Ted Kravitz highlights the pros-cons of taking a fresh engine penalty
Ted Kravitz stated that although a fresh engine could hand Lewis Hamilton a pace advantage, yet he starts from the middle of the pack, which has its own disadvantages.
“That is risk No 1, if you take a fresh power unit with the attendant five-place grid penalty. Risk No 2 is that you start in sixth or seventh at best if you’re Lewis Hamilton and that’s the middle of the midfield carbon-fibre zone – anything can happen in that wave,” Kravitz opined.
However, the F1 pundit added that barring these two issues, there are several advantages to Mercedes taking a five-place grid penalty for Hamilton. It would not only help them avoiding a collision with Max Verstappen, but would give them superior pace in the final race of the season.
“It separates out any possibility of Lewis and Max coming together at the first corner and potentially for the rest of the race as well. Lewis could get to second or third, pit in or out of sequence, undercut or overcut, and they might not ever meet if they were to separate them out like that,” he opined.
“Hamilton, with the pace advantage from that fresh engine…it might be in the back of Mercedes’ head. I don’t think it is – it’s a possibility, but I think they will see what happens in free practice on Friday. If it looks like Verstappen’s got an advantage, they might just think about that fresh power unit,” the pundit concluded.
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Nirmit Mehta
(2425 Articles Published)