F1 News: Mercedes Director Warns George Russell Faces Penalty Threat

Saajan Jogia | Jul 11, 2024

Jun 9, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Mercedes driver George Russell (GBR) races ahead of McLaren driver Lando Norris (GBR) during the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports / David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin revealed that the team adopted a precautionary approach by retiring George Russell's W15 F1 car during the British Grand Prix to avoid a future engine penalty as the water system leak on his car could have damaged the power unit.

Unfortunately for Russell, despite starting in pole position with a promising pace for a potential victory, his race took a turn for the worse. While chasing Max Verstappen in P4, the team called him into the pits and retired the car.

Mercedes had been monitoring a water system leak on Russell's car since the early stages of the race. Eventually, it became evident that the British driver wouldn't make it to the finish line, and continuing the race would have caused significant damage to the car's power unit, leading to a penalty in the next race. Apart from the exhaust, Russell is already one component away from exceeding the maximum allowance for all engine components permitted for the current season.

Explaining Russell’s DNF situation during Mercedes’ post-British GP debrief, Shovlin told the media:

“I mean unfortunately we knew that we had an issue relatively early in the race, so we were tracking this from the first stint.

“We didn’t know that it was going to be terminal, but it’s all linked to a leak that was in the water system that was causing the pressure to start to drift, and ultimately when we stopped the car, it was to protect the power unit. So we knew that we were never going to finish the race.

“What you don’t want to do is finish the race and destroy the power unit, then you’ll be looking at a penalty possibly later in the year. So it was preventative, but there was no way that we were going to get to the chequered flag.”

Max Verstappen is also on the brink of incurring a penalty as he has exhausted all six components. Installing any new element beyond the limit will trigger a 10-place grid penalty, with subsequent replacements resulting in five-place penalties each.

His teammate Sergio Perez started the British Grand Prix from the pit lane after Red Bull incurred a penalty for using a new fifth ICE unit, along with new control electronics and an energy store.