Lewis Hamilton will start Formula 1’s 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pitlane after Mercedes chose to change several components of his power unit under parc ferme conditions.
Hamilton, who had been set to start seventh for the Baku race, has now taken his fifth engine of the season – one more than the permitted allocation – without the approval of the FIA technical
delegate, hence the upcoming pitlane start. Mercedes has also swapped the turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K components on his car.
The move was one Mercedes had long been expecting to make, as Hamilton’s engine failure retirement from the Australian GP back at the beginning of the season meant he was on the limit for getting through the year without taking a further engine from that point onwards.
The issue with Hamilton’s Australian engine was later traced to an unexplained bottom-end failure.
Motorsport.com understands that Mercedes had been assessing which race would be best to make the change and incur the grid penalty, given the overtaking challenge at various tracks left on the 2024 calendar.
The Baku event – with its track’s long straights and the tyre management requirements of Sunday’s race – meant Mercedes decided to take the penalty hit here after its disappointing qualifying on Saturday in Azerbaijan.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Hamilton qualified seventh after failing to get his tyres working well at the start of his final lap in Q3, after being told to slow down late in his warm-up tour due to Alex Albon’s Williams being temporarily stuck at the pitlane exit with its cooling fan still attached to its airbox.
The delay in pushing on to start his final flier meant Hamilton’s tyres “wouldn’t work” – something Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said ahead also impacted George Russell in the other W15, given the younger Briton was running just ahead of his team-mate.
Mercedes is confident that Hamilton can recover up the order to at least get back towards the position he should have started in, although in doing so he will be chasing Lando Norris’s quicker car, after the McLaren driver was a shock Q1 faller due to an unfortunate yellow flag incident.
Hamilton’s engine change comes after his team-mate Russell’s also had to have one on Friday. After FP1 in Azerbaijan, Mercedes spotted an anomaly in the oil analysis on Russell’s car and acted as a…
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