F1 News: George Russell faces potential penalty after Mercedes forced to retire car at British Grand Prix
Mercedes' George Russell faces a potential penalty after the team decided to retire his car during the British Grand Prix to avoid damaging the power unit. The decision came after a water system leak was detected early in the race, which could have led to severe engine damage.
“I mean unfortunately we knew that we had an issue relatively early in the race, so we were tracking this from the first stint," Andrew Shovlin said.
“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.”
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Russell, who started from pole position, was in a strong position to challenge for a win. However, while running in fourth place and chasing Max Verstappen, he was called into the pits and his car was retired. Mercedes had been monitoring the leak and determined that continuing the race would risk significant damage to the power unit, potentially leading to a penalty in future races.
Russell is already close to exceeding the maximum allowance for engine components this season, making the team's decision crucial to avoid further penalties.
Max Verstappen is also on the verge of a penalty, having used all six of his allowed engine components. Any new additions will result in a 10-place grid penalty, with subsequent changes incurring five-place penalties.
Meanwhile, Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Perez, started the British Grand Prix from the pit lane due to a penalty for using a new fifth internal combustion engine unit, along with new control electronics and an energy store.
