Mercedes have yet to decide if the engine upgrade, scheduled to be used in Canada, will be introduced at this weekend’s French Grand Prix.
A “quality issue”, reportedly linked to the crankshaft, was blamed for the decision not to take the second unit of the season to Montreal, something that many think cost Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton against Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel.
It was anticipated that it would be fixed and ready to go in Paul Ricard but on Thursday, the world champion admits he still doesn’t know what will happen though does expect to have a fresh engine regardless.
“I think I might have one of my new engines out of my three, which is good enough,” he told Autosport. “The engine that we’ve used for the first seven races has been a great engine.
“A fresher, newer version of that (Spec 1) is going to be great, and have more power than the [high mileage] one I raced in the last race, obviously. So I personally am not concerned.”
It is possible Mercedes could use the first engine in practice on Friday in France to allow an extra day of testing back at the engine factory in Brixworth before a decision is taken.
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Whatever happens, Bottas is confident Mercedes will make the right call.
“Any gain we can get – including a new engine – will be very important if we want to win the title,” he claimed. “We all hope we can get the new one. At the moment that is our plan but we just need to confirm.
“I trust that things are being improved since two weeks ago with the new engine. If we decide to run it, for sure we are confident to run it 100%.”
The implications of the decision are huge, as a new engine would have to complete seven races regardless of whether it is the old or new specification. The third and final engine is expected to be introduced sometime around the Italian GP in September.