George Russell’s Brazil retirement no problem for last two Formula One races

LONDON – George Russell’s engine-related retirement from last Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix will have no knock-on effect for the last two races of the Formula One season, Mercedes said in a team debrief on Wednesday.

The Briton was retired at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil as a precaution after rising temperatures in the power unit risked failure and wider damage to the car.

That is no big concern for the team, however, as Mercedes head of trackside performance Riccardo Musconi said Russell was always scheduled to have a different power unit for Las Vegas and the Abu Dhabi season-ender.

“To avoid a possible fire and damage to other parts of the car, the logical conclusion was to retire the car,” he added.

“He will be on a different power unit for the final two races so there is no issue from that point of view.”

Mercedes suffered a dismal weekend at Interlagos, their worst of the season after arriving with hopes of repeating last season’s one-two win. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was eighth.

That 2022 Interlagos victory remains the once-dominant former champions’ most recent triumph, with Red Bull winning 19 of 20 races this season and Ferrari the other.

Musconi also said Hamilton’s disqualification from second place in October’s United States Grand Prix in Austin for excessive wear of the under-car plank might have contributed to the lack of pace, without being the determining factor.

“We were perhaps too conservative with the ride heights after Austin,” he explained. “Part of the answer may be there, but we don’t think that explains the full picture as we saw it unfolding at the weekend.”

Separately, Formula One stewards have deferred from Wednesday to Thursday a virtual hearing into a petition by the Haas team to review, and potentially change, the results of the US Grand Prix weeks after the event.

The stewards said in a statement that the delay was to allow them “to independently consider the submissions made”.

Haas, now bottom of the championship standings, sought the review during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix because they believe some rivals exceeded track limits without sanction in the Oct 22 race.

The hearing was scheduled to reconvene at 1400 GMT (10pm, Singapore time) on Thursday to decide whether a “significant and relevant new element was discovered that was unavailable to the party seeking the review at the time of the decision(s) petitioned to be reviewed”.

It will move on to a second stage only if such an element is discovered.

Representatives of Aston Martin, Williams and champions Red Bull were summoned to the virtual hearing.

Williams driver Alex Albon, who ended up ninth in Austin, was one of several drivers who allegedly committed track-limit breaches at Turn 6 without penalty.

Haas had Nico Hulkenberg finish 11th in the race but a five-second penalty for Albon would lift the German into the final scoring position.

Stewards said at the time that based on the video footage available, which did not include CCTV, the evidence was not accurate or consistent enough to be sure Albon had gone over the white line.

Red Bull’s involvement would appear to relate to Sergio Perez, fourth in the grand prix won by teammate Max Verstappen, while Canadian Lance Stroll was Aston Martin’s only finisher in seventh place. REUTERS