Mercedes has confirmed that the W09s of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have both been equipped with its upgraded engine package, following its postponement in Canada.
Mercedes intended to introduce its updated engine package at the preceding round in Canada but was forced to abandon that strategy amid a quality issue.
It was confirmed on Friday morning at the French Grand Prix that Hamilton and Bottas had taken on a fresh Turbocharger, MGU-H and Internal Combustion Engine.
It was not initially determined whether the fresh components, which were also made available for customers Force India and Williams, were of the old or new-spec power unit.
In the wake of FP2, in which Hamilton led the way by seven-tenths of a second, Mercedes confirmed that a ‘Phase 2.1’ update has been equipped to both cars.
“Those new components are of an upgraded specification which contains reliability and performance updates,” confirmed the team.
“This is a Phase 2.1 [update] with some ‘added goodness’ thanks to a fantastic effort by the team in Brixworth.”
All six race units plus spares have been reworked and are present at Paul Ricard, with the intention for the company to run the PUs for the remainder of the weekend.
