“Mercedes used to have an easy time of it”– Red Bull chief Helmut Marko explains why Mercedes is probably having engine reliability issues

“Mercedes used to have an easy time of it”– Red Bull boss Helmut Marko talks about why the arch-rivals Mercedes are having engine issues.

Mercedes have admitted that they have some engine concerns that forced them to send Valtteri Bottas’ new engine in Monza back to Brixworth to diagnose the possible issues.

Mercedes that is why is hesitating to give a new engine to Lewis Hamilton as of now to avoid taking two successive engine penalties like Bottas, which will realistically be his championship contention.

Fb down but Lewis’ engine holding out. All is still good @MercedesAMGF1

— Christoph Brughmans (@cbrughmans) October 4, 2021

However, with only two long-mileage engines remaining with hamilton, he would be forced to pick his fourth engine. Anticipating an advantage out of it, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko talks about the sudden reliability issues in Mercedes’ engine.

“Mercedes used to have an easy time of it,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport. “They used the power for the first few laps and then ran the engines in ‘cruising’ gear. That’s no longer possible. Now they often have to drive in a higher mode. And that’s where the problems come in.”

Engine change in Turkey? Not gonna happen

Recently, Toto Wolff talked about Hamilton possibly taking his fourth engine in Turkey, but the recent update by AMuS quotes a Mercedes engineer as saying that it’s not likely this weekend.

“It probably won’t happen in Turkey unless Lewis has a problem there,” said the source. “We expect a close race against Red Bull. But then it has to be done. You’re trying to put it on a track where you are either particularly strong or weak. Or when it rains.

“Mexico will be a Red Bull circuit because of the altitude. Interlagos maybe, too,” he said. Mercedes has a skinny room for error, and any slip up would severely advantage Red Bull in this year’s title fight.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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