George Russell won’t be taking an engine penalty at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as initially expected, but the Mercedes driver has revealed that the decision only postpones the inevitable.
Mercedes had been expected to follow a similar power-unit strategy with Russell to the one used for Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Monza, where the Italian took a fresh engine and powered through a grid drop to win from 19th.
Russell, however, will have to wait a little longer before taking his penalty, with Mercedes’ next ADUO engine upgrade now influencing the timing of the change.
“Yeah, it won’t be this weekend,” he said of the engine penalty, speaking on Thursday in Baku. “I will take a penalty slightly further down the line.
“So, you know, there is a bit of a deficit, but that is swings and roundabouts over the season because all the drivers have new engines at different points.
“So, one race you’ll have a fresher one, one race you’ll have an older one. This one is coming to the end of its life, let’s say.
“But yeah, it won’t be long until, unfortunately or fortunately, you’re taking a penalty because, depending on where you do it, it might not be so harmful.”
Another penalty was lurking
The situation became more complicated because Russell already used a new turbocharger in Hungary. Had he taken a fresh power unit in Baku as originally anticipated, that would have put him on course for another grid penalty later in the season.
Mercedes’ forthcoming ADUO upgrade has therefore made it more logical to stretch the life of Russell’s current unit rather than trigger a penalty now.
Pressed further on the reasoning, Russell explained:
“Because we have the ADUO update coming, which means I would have had to have taken another penalty because in Budapest, when I had to change my power unit, I also had to change my turbo there.
“And now I’ve… it’s all a bit complicated. But long story short, if I took one now, I would have had to have taken another one.”
Read also: Wolff warns Mercedes of ‘demanding period’ aheadFor Russell, the timing of the penalty could ultimately be just as important as the penalty itself.
Mercedes will want to introduce the upgraded power unit at a point where the resulting grid drop carries the least possible cost, particularly with the Briton already 81 points behind Antonelli.
Russell refuses to give up
The championship deficit has left Russell with little margin for error, but he insists his approach will not change while a mathematical route to the title remains.
“I’m going to keep fighting every single race until, you know, it’s mathematically impossible,” he said.
“But it doesn’t change how I go about my job. I want to try and win every single race and put it on pole every single race.
“That’s my goal. That’s what I’m working towards every single weekend, and what happens thereafter will be.
“And there’s obviously a huge deficit, but it’s not even really a consideration right now. It’s just the performance is the biggest priority.”
So while Baku will not bring the expected grid penalty, Russell knows his current Mercedes power unit is approaching the end of its useful life.
The question now is not whether he will pay the price for a fresh engine, but when Mercedes believes the timing will hurt him least.
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