Mercedes Considering New Engine For Hamilton To Win Record F1 World Title

While only recently Mercedes deployed a new engine for Lewis Hamilton at the Brazilian GP, only three races ago, where he rocketed to a win despite having a grid penalty, the team from Brackley could be considering another engine change. Verstappen is already the fastest in FP1 and in recent races thanks to the high-performance degradation, the advantage Hamilton had in Brazil has been dwindled greatly. Mercedes also fears a collision with Verstappen, who would win the world championship if Hamilton didn't score more points as despite being on equal points the Dutchman has won more races. 

A fresh engine would allow Mercedes to deploy the power unit to the maximum of its limits without fears of degradation as it just needs to last one race. It would also give the Briton an immense straight-line speed advantage on the long straights of Abu Dhabi allaying any fears of a collision with Verstappen who has defended very aggressively which resulted in many run-ins at the Saudi Arabian GP. 

A new engine would also mean Hamilton would basically get a 5 place grid penalty and considering the speed advantage the Mercedes engine has over Ferrari and Alpine, passing those slower cars would be a walk in the park. Even the Honda-powered Red Bull wouldn't stand a chance even with its aerodynamic superiority. 

Red Bull has not won in the last three races but the Mercedes advantage has come down 

"What do Mercedes fear most? Max Verstappen taking out Lewis Hamilton and winning the championship that way," said Kravitz on Sky Sports. "[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," he added. 

But he also added this strategy isn't without risk as Hamilton will find himself in the mid-field, stuck in dirty air, on a track where overtaking isn't straightforward. He will also be at risk of collisions and he could even find himself behind the Alpha Tauri cars, which is the Red Bull junior team, so he could have three cars blocking the path between him and Verstappen. 

"And secondly, 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," Kravitz added.