Mercedes F1 Engine Failure Leads To Revised Parameters For Both Factory & Customer Teams

Mercedes have determined that a big-end bearing failure in the crankshaft was the cause of Lewis Hamilton’s engine failure during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The incident happened without any warning after 618 km (384 miles) and was preceded by a loss of oil pressure in Turn 15, according to the automaker. Moving forward, Hamilton will need to revert to his Singapore power unit in Suzuka this weekend, while Nico Rosberg will continue using the same unit he ran in Malaysia.

More importantly perhaps is the fact that Mercedes will be introducing revised running parameters as a precaution, for both themselves as well as customers Williams, Force India and Manor.

These parameters will include a different and more conservative oil specification, as reported by Autosport, though that will not be the only modification in play.

In Japan, all Mercedes customer drivers were set to utilize new engines, except for Manor’s Esteban Ocon – however now these changes have been delayed until Mercedes will finish analyzing Hamilton’s failed power unit.

This means that a total of five customer team drivers will continue using the same units from the Malaysian GP next weekend in Japan.

At this point, it remains to be seen if or how the new running parameters will affect the Mercedes engines going forward.