Mercedes say Lewis Hamilton is “likely” to suffer a grid penalty for using too many engine parts at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
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The British driver travels to Spa with a 19-point lead over Nico Rosberg in the Drivers’ Championship, having been 43 points behind his Mercedes team-mate earlier in the season.
“It’s insane how quickly this year is going by”, said Hamilton, whose hectic lifestyle included two visits to the Caribbean as well as trips to NY and Mexico during the sport’s summer shutdown.
“I’m feeling refreshed, re-energised and ready to go after a fun few weeks off – and I’ll come out fighting”. It seems like a few weeks ago we were in Barcelona for winter testing and now we are through the summer break, heading to Spa.
“It’s insane how quickly this year is going by”, he said. “The guys and girls back at MTC and also in Sakura are working hard to keep pushing the limits of our package, and I hope we can enjoy a smooth race from that point of view”. There will be more up and downs to come, I’m sure.
“For me, it’s like a clean slate at this stage”, said Rosberg.
“It was great to finally get back on the top step there previous year, so fingers crossed I’ll be able to have another really strong race this time around”. “What’s happened so far this season is in the past, and I can’t wait to get in that vehicle, put my foot down and get everything I can from these next races”.
While the power hungry Spa-Francorchamps circuit is not a great fit for McLaren-Honda, Button said in the build-up to the weekend that anything is possible, especially considering how comfortable he has always felt racing in Belgium.
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“Going into Spa it should be a great weekend, there will be a lot of Belgian and also Dutch fans”, said F1’s youngest race victor. The Englishman would then suffer his penalty in a single hit rather than run the risk of enduring a series of demotions during the rest of the season.
