Sunday (26) in Russia starts with surprising news. THE Mercedes announced that it will change the engine of the car of Valtteri Bottas, causing the Finn to lose ten positions on the starting grid of the soon-to-be race. Thus, Bottas drops from seventh to 17th place.
According to the note published by the FIA, Mercedes decided to change some elements in the already new power unit in car #77 – which had been completely replaced in the last race in Italy. The parts themselves are with new combustion engine (ICE), turbo and power generator (MGU-H).
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In practice, Mercedes plays with the regulation under the bass and tries to get Bottas to score Max Verstappen, who also had punishment for this stage in Sochi.
Like the Finn himself in Monza, the Dutchman starts last because the entire Honda power unit itself was put into the #33 car from Red Bull.
Mercedes itself admitted that this is a “tactical change”. Thus, Bottas will be used as a key player in the fight for the title of the 2021 season to prevent Verstappen from climbing the peloton and getting points in the Russian GP.
Lewis Hamilton, who would be the favorite to win, has a complicated task: he starts only fourth due to the circumstances of Saturday’s classification, especially in the final minutes in Q3. With the runway drying, McLaren, Ferrari and Williams took advantage of the moment to put on slick tires. Mercedes took a while to do the same, but did not expect Hamilton to make an unexpected mistake in the pits’ entrance, knocking the car lightly.
Alfa Romeo changes Giovinazzi gears and causes another penalty on the grid
Another team that announced changes this Sunday morning was the Alfa Romeo. Hinwil’s team chose to change the gears of the car. Antonio Giovinazzi. In this way, the Italian will lose five grid positions soon in Sochi.
But because of Max Verstappen’s engine changes, Nicholas latifi and Valtteri Bottas, Giovinazzi, who scored only 18th time in Saturday’s standings in Russia, will start ahead of the three in 16th.
The Russian GP is scheduled to start soon, at 9 am (GMT-3) this Sunday. O BIG PRIZE follow everything LIVE and in REAL TIME.
