It would appear that good fortune has not been Lewis Hamilton’s strength in 2016, as his qualifying is ruined for the second race in a row by a mechanical failure. The malfunction appears to be very similar to the issue that the reigning World Champion suffered in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Last round’s Chinese Grand Prix was one that Hamilton would have surely wanted to erase from his memory, as it was an uphill battle the entire weekend for the Brit. His weekend was tough before it had even started, as the FIA handed him a five-place grid penalty for changing the damaged gearbox ahead of the weekend. When qualifying rolled around, he found himself at the back of the grid. The issue was caused by the MGU-H, the motor generator unit which converts wasted heat from the turbocharger into electrical energy.
Prior to this weekend of racing, Mercedes had confirmed that they analyzed the China power unit and believed that the issue was related to the insulation. As a result, they made some repairs which included replacing the turbocharger and oil pumps. The power unit was shipped from the team’s Brixworth factory to the Sochi Autodrom to be used as a spare for the weekend.
Despite the team running the power unit which they had used in the Chinese Grand Prix race, an issue which is nearly identical to the issue in China has immerged. This means that the team will need to reassess the cause of the issue.
Lewis Hamilton was understandably disappointed with the current situation, but by no means seriously physiologically wounded, as he described the failure:
“It’s obviously not a great feeling to be on the sidelines again – but that’s life. I knew there was a problem and that it was probably the same failure that I had in China pretty much straight away. I went out for a second run in Q2 to get a feeler lap and felt the same power loss as last time. When it happened in Shanghai it was something we hadn’t seen before and now unfortunately it’s happened again, so we need to understand it. I’ve never been superstitious about these things, though, and I never will be. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll move on and look ahead to the race.”
Currently, Hamilton is set to take the tenth grid position. However, he could start from the pit lane if the team needs to replace the power unit of the car, as stated by the regulations. As it is right now, his chances of a race victory are slim, as the Sochi Autodrom is difficult for overtaking. If he needs to start from the pit lane, his chances will be virtually zero.
“It’s so unfortunate for him [Hamilton] after the problems he has already faced this season – and of course we have the concern that the same thing could happen again,” explained Toto Wolff, the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “But this is also part of motor racing. The Power Unit is a core element of performance and one of our biggest strengths. We are pushing hard to find lap time in every area and it’s inevitable that sometimes you reach limits in that process.”
Wolff has been happy with Hamilton’s positive attitude, despite all of the mishaps this season. “Lewis has handled everything so far this year with calm and professionalism,” he said. “He is resilient and showing a great attitude, even though this is a tough time for him.” Surely the team are hoping for more positive races in the very near future.
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