Mercedes got its first win of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix, but the team’s power units went through some reliability issues.
The Mercedes engine is under the spotlight after a run of problems throughout the past couple of race weekends.
In Canada, Williams driver Alex Albon retired from the race after seven laps. The power unit caused the retirement.
Williams is not the only Mercedes customer to have gone through problems with the engine; Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso couldn’t finish the Monaco GP after a loss of power.
Even the Mercedes car suffered problems this season. Kimi Antonelli retired from the Emilia-Romagna and Spanish races due to engine-related issues.
Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff addressed the recent run of issues and came to the defense of the power unit—trying to reassure fans and customer teams alike that the Mercedes engine can still be counted on.
“I mean, our engines have been as good as gold since the introduction of the hybrid era, and so strong. And now it’s the final year, all sights are on next year, and this group are fully on top of the reliability issues that we have,” Wolff explained.
“And statistically, if you look at the many years, the failures we had were very minimal. So we need to learn now what happened. I don’t know what happened to Alex (Albon), actually. And I’m sure we’ll understand it.”
If Wolff is right, the Mercedes engine shouldn’t go through many more issues this season. The power unit can maintain its reputation as long as the second half of the season sees the expected high-level reliability from the engine.
Wolff feels confident in the engine holding up over the course of the season. The Mercedes power unit is likely the best on the grid, balancing power and reliability over the past decade.
These problems are likely aberrations, which should give the team confidence about its prospects going forward.
The Canadian GP saw the Brackley-based team keep itself at the top of the timesheets all weekend long.
George Russell secured a stunning pole position in Canada and delivered a steady drive in the race to secure the win.
Antonelli managed to get his first career podium finish and showed that the Mercedes car was flat-out better than the rest of the field.
If the engines hold up for the rest of the season, Mercedes could be set for a dramatic upturn in form.
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