French GP: Lewis Hamilton Benefits After Mercedes Introduce Upgraded Engine

Mercedes finally introduced their much awaited spec 2 engine during Friday practice at the French Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard and revealed it was much better than the upgrade that was expected during the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows team delayed the introduction of the new spec power unit at the Canadian Grand Prix due to reliability concerns, but after two weeks of hard work in their factory at Brixworth, they have managed to debut it at the French Grand Prix on all six Mercedes powered cars. The new update labeled Phase 2.1 features a new engine, turbocharger and MGU-H and they are said to contribute towards better performance and reliability.

"We've introduced new spec power units for France," Mercedes technical director James Allison said, as per ESPN. "The team in Brixworth have moved mountains to deliver the updated unit in time for France and we are looking forward to racing it in anger both here and in the races that follow thick and fast in the weeks ahead.”

"The car is behaving well, the tyres seem to be in decent shape and the pace looks alright. However, we've had good Fridays before and were then disappointed Saturday and Sunday, so we need to make sure we take nothing for granted and carry this form into the days that really count,” he added.

The Mercedes upgrade seems to be certainly working after Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in both the first and second free practice session Friday. The Briton was over half a second faster than second placed Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull in FP2.

The new upgrade will make the Silver Arrows team the favorites ahead of the first race at the Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990. Hamilton is keen to get back to winning ways after losing ground to Sebastian Vettel in the F1 Drivers’ championship.

The four-time world champion thanked the entire team back at the factory and confirmed that the engine feels “fresh and clean.” But Hamilton admitted the true performance will only become clear on Saturday when all the teams turn up their engines. The British racing driver was happy with the first two sessions, but is hoping the team can carry their momentum into the rest of the weekend.

"The new engine feels clean and fresh, but we won't really know its full potential until tomorrow when everyone gets to turn their engines up. I'm grateful for the hard work that everyone put into it back in Brixworth,” Hamilton said after FP2 on Friday.

“They've been pushing so hard to get this engine and do it in the right way, so a big thank you to everyone back at the factory -- I hope that we can do something great with it! Overall, it was a good session today - now we need to carry on this performance through the weekend,” the reigning champion added.