George Russell has opted to postpone his engine penalty until Mercedes introduces its upgraded Formula 1 power unit. The British driver revealed that this strategy is aimed at avoiding an unnecessary double penalty.
This decision comes after his Mercedes teammate, Kimi Antonelli, served a penalty at the Italian Grand Prix last weekend. Antonelli started from 19th on the grid and carved his way through the field to secure a historic victory. Russell, meanwhile, is biding his time to receive new components.
“We're waiting to take my penalty with the ADUO upgrade,” Russell said. “Otherwise, if I took it [in Monza], I'd have to take it again. So it made zero sense for me.”
Mercedes is widely regarded as having the best power unit, but they are allowed to upgrade it through the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system, which is based on the internal combustion engine's performance. Red Bull Ford has been ranked as the top engine and therefore cannot upgrade its powertrain. Meanwhile, Ferrari has already introduced two upgrades this season, while Mercedes is permitted only one.
Antonelli will also take a penalty when Mercedes introduces its new power unit, but given he has already exceeded his allocation, this will trigger only a five-place penalty per new component instead of 10. “So we're changing everything now to avoid problems later on,” Antonelli explained. “And, as I said before, this is the best track to do it.”
Russell expects the pecking order to evolve in a “very interesting” way when the Silver Arrow is finally updated. “I don't think, as a team, we're under threat. And, I think it'll be very interesting when we bring our upgrades,” he added.
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