With a penalty looming, McLaren are hoping that Mercedes can save Lando Norris’ power unit that failed in Austria.
Norris endured a testing time in the run-up to the Austrian Grand Prix, having to sit out the majority of the first practice meaning he was left unprepared for the Friday qualifying session.
The young Brit qualified in 15th for Saturday’s Sprint race but was able to move up to 11th for Sunday’s grand prix. In the race at the Red Bull Ring, Norris finished seventh but there was concern for his misfiring power unit having already used three this season.
In order to avoid a penalty, McLaren are hopeful that engine suppliers Mercedes will be able to save the power unit Norris used in the first session of the weekend.
“The power unit that failed on Lando’s side on Friday was a brand new one. It was his third one,” team boss Andreas Seidl said as reported by GPFans.com.
“The analysis is still ongoing on Mercedes HPP side at the moment and hopefully they are in a position to recover that power unit and we will be in a better place again.
“Of course, it is not ideal that we have to go back to the old power units from the pool just because power units lose a bit of power with the mileage.
“But at the same time, it still allowed us to perform as we did [in Austria].”
What do you think @DanielRicciardo and @LandoNorris were talking about here? 😅 pic.twitter.com/M0bPwAEuK4
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 16, 2022
Despite there being no race this weekend, the week has been a busy one for McLaren with driver Daniel Ricciardo reaffirming his commitment to the team for next season.
He took to Instagram to confirm he would be staying until the end of next year at least and had no plans to walk away from the sport just yet.
“I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport,” the Australian said in a post. “Appreciate it hasn’t always been easy, but who wants easy!
“I’m working my ass off with the team to make improvements and get the car right and back to the front where it belongs. I still want this more than ever. See you in Le Castellet.”
McLaren head into the French Grand Prix fourth in the Constructors’ Championship while Norris is seventh and Ricciardo 12th in the Drivers’ Standings.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News – PlanetF1…