New engines at Ferrari & amp; Mercedes: Penalties for Bottas & amp; Hulkenberg

D the World Cup is entering its decisive phase. Ferrari and Mercedes unpack their Spec 3 engines for the two power races in Spa and Monza. If the World Cup candidates want to find even more power afterwards, they either have to do it through fuel development or accept a starting place penalty for a further expansion stage.

Ferrari already has its latest engine specification with customers at the Hungarian GP HaasF1 and Sauber tested. After a positive result, the plant is now also upgrading. Nevertheless, the drive units are not exactly the same. Ferrari has been using a different fuel than its customer teams for six races. With more power, of course. Theoretically, HaasF1 and Sauber could also benefit from this, but they would have to inquire about it at Ferrari. Apparently that did not happen. Or the price for the new fuel is too expensive.

Perfect time for Bottas penalty

xpb

The Ferrari customers were already on the road with the new engine in Budapest. The qualifying mode should be a rocket.

Mercedes is making a secret out of the use of the Spec 3 engine, as in Paul Ricard . Officially, no decision has yet been made. As of Wednesday, new units were not yet sealed. The paddock radio reports the green light for the factory team, Force India and Williams.

The use of the new engine has consequences for Valtteri Bottas. The Finn already has three units of engine, turbocharger and MGU-H in his contingent. That means a penalty transfer to the end of the starting grid. If that happens, the timing would be well chosen. Spa is the easiest route to overtakecan.

Now the hydraulic damage from the Red Bull Ring is taking its toll. The engine ran there for 45 seconds with excessively high temperatures. After an intensive investigation, Mercedes was too risky to continue using the engine in races.

Hülkenberg gets full set of the old engine

xpb

For Hülkenberg, as for Bottas in Spa, things will start from the last row on the grid.

Nico Hülkenberg will keep Bottas company on the back row. The German gets a complete set of Renault drive elements and thus exceeds the limit for the engine, turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, battery and power electronics. Renault does not use its latest specification. Hülkenberg's engine pool was simply too much thinned out.

The drivers will have to wait at least as far as Monza or maybe even Singapore before the C engine comes, which is supposed to close the gap to Ferrari and Mercedes. Honda is also taking its time with its last power level. Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley will compete in Spa with the engine configuration that they drove before the summer break.