The Mercedes Formula 1 team has encountered its second issue of the Bahrain test, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli‘s W17 breaking down after just three laps with a power unit issue.
Mercedes had been reliably racking up miles at Barcelona’s shakedown, but its running in Bahrain has now been halted for two consecutive days. On Wednesday afternoon Antonelli was restricted to 30 laps with a suspension problem, after George Russell had completed 56 laps in the morning session.
Antonelli has now been dealt another setback after his Mercedes’ new power unit suffered an issue after just three laps, requiring Mercedes to replace the entire power unit as it aims to make it back out in the afternoon.
Russell is scheduled to take over again after the lunch break, but given the mileage completed is now being skewed towards him, Mercedes may well adjust its run programme on Thursday or Friday to hand Antonelli more time aboard the W17.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Red Bull has also been kept in the garage after what the team said was a “routine issue during the car build”, which has caused a two-hour delay.
That is eating into Isack Hadjar‘s track time, with the Frenchman scheduled to take the reins of the RB22 for the entire day.
Mercedes powered teams had been talking up Red Bull-Ford’s alleged advantage with its new hybrid power units, which comes against the backdrop of rival manufacturers trying to nix Mercedes’ interpretation of the regulations around engine compression ratios.
At the start of Thursday’s running, Sergio Perez caused the first red flag of the day after his Cadillac coasted a halt on the Mexican’s outlap. After the car was recovered, Perez was able to return to the track an hour later.
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