F1 2016: Red Bull secure drivers, Hamilton resigns to future penalties ahead of Austrian GP
Red Bull have nearly confirmed all of their 2017 driver line up by confirming Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton is expected to
By autoX Editorial
In the midst of the 2016 Austrian grand prix weekend, where Nico Rosberg topped both free practice sessions for Mercedes, team-mate Lewis Hamilton is about to face a difficult season as the Brit will now need to tread carefully.
Every driver is allocated a total of five complete power units. Lewis Hamilton has nearly used all of his allocated components with half of the season still to go. Hamilton, despite having reliability issues, is still second in the championship. But the reigning champion seems to have come to terms with the fact that later on in the year, grid-penalties are coming his way and will have to make every one of his moves with utmost care.
Stating “it is what it is”, Hamilton has a fresh engine (his third internal combustion engine) in his Mercedes for the Austrian GP, and his allocation of five turbo chargers and MGU-H units has now reached its maximum. Hamilton is also on his third MGU-K unit and his fourth energy store and control electronics system now.
Hamilton is expecting at least one or two, 10-place grid penalties in the coming races. But if reliability problems don’t crop up again, Hamilton claims that he will take a penalty at races where he believes he can easily climb up the order and possibly challenge for the win, after careful assessment.
Meanwhile, speculation over Daniel Ricciardo moving on from Red Bull, now seems to have been drained out. Red Bull have confirmed that Ricciardo will remain with the team at least till the end of 2018. The team have also confirmed the contract extension for Carlos Sainz for an extra 12 months. Sainz will continue to race for Torro Rosso for his third consecutive season with the team, in their 2017 campaign. Furthermore, Christian Horner hinted that both Red Bull and Torro Rosso driver line-ups will remain unchanged for the next season by suggesting that Daniil Kvyat will also be retained next year.
While Ferrari is yet to confirm whether Kimi Raikkonen will continue to race for the team in 2017, many rumours are floating around the paddock. Some suggest that Sergio Perez might make a move to Ferrari, as the Mexican driver said that anything can happen in F1, and did not deny that he is not looking around for other opportunities, but is currently focused on the task at hand with Force India.
