Mercedes provide key Hamilton update ahead of Japanese GP

Mercedes have delivered an important update on Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes engine after it suffered a severe failure during the Australian Grand Prix.

The Brit was forced to retire on lap 17 of the race after his car shutdown to protect engine components from a sudden drop in oil pressure.

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It may have saved lots of costly damage, as well as issues to other components within the car which could lead to grid penalties later on in the season.

The long-distance nature of the early part of the season means that it can take time to transport and properly assess anything which has been damaged in a race.

It's part of the reason why the extent of the damage to the Silver Arrows power unit is unknown currently, with the team assessing the parts back at base in Brixworth.

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How much damage did Lewis Hamilton's car sustain?

Speaking in their post-race debrief for the Australian Grand Prix, Technical Director James Allison assured that they will know the cause of the problems soon.

“We do not. The power units will return to the safe hands of the guys at Brixworth, who will be able to figure out what let go,” he said.

“All we know is the symptoms at the time, which was a rapid loss of oil pressure followed by a shutdown of the engine to protect it.

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“When you know you’ve got catastrophic loss like that, the best thing you can do for the future is kill it there and then, and then you have not got like a load of molten metal," Allison continued.

“You have normally got a fairly clear evidence chain of what caused it and then that lets you work better for the future.

"So, we do not know yet, [but] Brixworth and HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] will do in short order.”

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