Lewis Hamilton expects Mercedes drivers to be hit with F1 penalties

Lewis Hamilton is expecting Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli to be hit with grid penalties for exceeding their engine allocation during the 2026 Formula 1 season. 

While praising Ferrari’s impressive reliability, seven-time world champion Hamilton highlighted the issues Mercedes has faced, particularly on the power unit side. 

Russell retired from the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix with a battery-related failure, before Antonelli dropped out of second place in Barcelona with a similar problem. 

Reliability has been Mercedes’ biggest weakness in a season it has otherwise largely dominated. In contrast, Ferrari’s reliability has been strong, with Hamilton the only driver to finish every lap across the opening nine rounds. 

“Massively impressed,” Hamilton said about Ferrari’s reliability. “I think we came into the season knowing that we needed to level up in our processes and just how we executed on race weekends.

“That's something that we were pushing for last year. And then the team's really, every single individual brings so much to the table and is bringing the best to the table. The guys in the garage worked so hard for the pitstops. We've got great pitstops.

“And then everyone back in the factory has worked so hard to bring this consistency, and that's really what I think ultimately is going to make the difference this year.

“You're seeing engines in general have had more issues this year than they normally would have, and don't know what the situation with on the battery side of this for George and for Kimi, but at some point there must be a penalty, I would imagine, in the sense that we only have two battery cells or something like that. 

“But it's going to be key for us just holding onto this, maximising the points, executing to the best of our ability, even when it's the case that we can't win.”

Despite Hamilton’s claim, Mercedes and Ferrari has so far used the same number of internal combustion (ICE), turbochargers (TC), energy storers (ES) and control electrics (CS). 

Both Ferrari drivers have used fewer exhausts but have used more motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K) elements. 

Further woes for Antonelli during a nightmare British Grand Prix, coupled with a third-place finish for Hamilton, saw the 41-year-old Briton close to just 32 points behind the Italian teenager in the championship standings.