Lewis Hamilton edges closer to possible penalty after losing Australia F1 engine

Lewis Hamilton has been forced to use a second Mercedes F1 engine following his DNF at the Australian Grand Prix.

As reported by Motorsport.com, the engine Hamilton used in Australia couldn’t be repaired.

Following the race at Albert Park, James Allison had described Hamilton’s issue as a “catastrophic loss” and explained that “rapid loss of oil pressure followed by a shutdown of the engine.”

After an investigation, Mercedes concluded “that the retirement was caused by a bottom end failure, which has been traced back to a quality process issue rather than any specific design problem.”

This means Hamilton has one less engine available in his pool of four for the season.

It’s extremely likely during the final few races, Hamilton will exceed this quota and thus be hit with a penalty.

Hamilton has endured a tough season so far, picking up just eight points in the opening three races - his worst start to a campaign.

Ahead of the weekend, Hamilton said: “You have seen in the past – last year, for example – just how things can switch in certain teams. If you look at Aston or McLaren last year, who started on the back foot or the other way around.

“Anything can happen in this sport so we have just got to learn as much as we can, take as much as we can from the data, remain positive, continue to work hard.

“I always say it’s not how you fall, it’s how you get up, so we’re going to continue to chase and fight and hope that we can be fighting at the front at some stage.”