Lewis Hamilton will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pits after Mercedes decided to change several components of his power unit .
Hamilton, who was due to start seventh in Baku, has now taken his fifth moto of the season – one more than the allowed allocation. Mercedes also replaced the turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K components on his car.
The move was long anticipated by Mercedes, as Hamilton’s retirement at the Australian Grand Prix due to an engine failure at the start of the season meant he was on the verge of going through the year without a further engine from that point forward.
The problem with Hamilton’s engine from Australia was later linked to an unexplained failure.
Mercedes was assessing which race would be best to change and receive a penalty at the start, given the challenge of overtaking at the various tracks remaining on the 2024 calendar.
The event in Baku – with the long straights and tire management demands of Sunday’s race – saw Mercedes decide to apply the penalty here after disappointing qualifying for the Azerbaijan WC.
Hamilton qualified seventh after failing to get his tires to work at the start of his final lap in Q3, having been told to slow down late in his warm-up lap due to Alex Albon, who was temporarily stuck at the pit exit with a fan attached .
The delay to the start of his final fast lap meant Hamilton’s tires would not work – something Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had said in advance and also affected George Russell.
Mercedes is confident that Hamilton can return to at least return to the starting position, although he will be chasing the faster car of Lando Norris, after the McLaren driver crashed out in Q1.
