09/06/2019
NEWS STORY
There was a late scare for Lewis Hamilton this afternoon when it was revealed that Mercedes had discovered a hydraulic leak on his car.
"We discovered a hydraulic leak on Lewis’ car late yesterday afternoon," said the German team. "We have diagnosed the source and are now putting the car back together ready for the race."
Starting alongside Sebastian Vettel who claimed pole yesterday, news of the leak comes a day after Lance Stroll, who is also using the latest-spec Mercedes engine, suffered a power unit failure that saw him sidelined for the rest of FP3, leaving him unable to post a time.
In the run-up to the race mechanics were still working on the car, which has involved removing the floor and the engine, albeit under parc ferme conditions. This means that while the team is able to repair the leak, any changes of parts would result in a penalty.
In the wake of Stroll's failure, which was originally claimed to be an engine issue, it is thought that the German team has opted not to run its engines at full power.