Mercedes admit that recent engine failures have put "some pressure" on their PU allocation

On the back of engine issues at the last three consecutive F1 races, Mercedes technical director James Allison has conceded that the reliability woes have put pressure on George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli's PU allocations.

Following a tough weekend at Monte Carlo, Mercedes looked very strong in qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. George Russell secured fourth place on the grid while his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli qualified sixth.

The Briton might have expected to complete the same start that he had last year at Barcelona, but he endured different fortunes to what he achieved a year ago. Russell was picked off by Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1 before he was also overtaken by Charles Leclerc into Turn 5.

He then played the long game and managed to overtake his former team-mate with an undercut strategy. At the safety car restart, he was adamant to overtake Max Verstappen, as he dived down the inside into Turn 1 but made contact with the Dutchman.

Red Bull then instructed Verstappen to hand the place back to Russell following their scarp at Turn 1. With just three laps left to go, the Dutchman slowed down at Turn 5, and Russell completed the move on the outside, but the reigning champion appeared to speed back up again, leading to contact between the pair.

The four-time F1 champion would eventually let Russell through into Turn 11, and the Mercedes driver finished in P4.

His team-mate Antonelli looked on for points today despite losing out at the start as he ran wide, but his race ended in the gravel after an apparent Power unit issue for his second DNF in three races.

Reflecting on the recent technical gremlins, Mercedes technical director James Allison revealed that the German-British outfit is yet to find out the root cause of the power unit issues.

"It looked like he had engine failure. Yeah, that's true, and I think that’s stuff we've said externally already. We don't know what let go in the PU yet.

"It's made its way back to Brixworth. They'll dismantle it, figure out what's let go, work out what they need to do as recommendations for the whole pool of race engines, not just in our team, but also in their customer teams as well.

"And hopefully, we won't see any repeat of it in the remainder of the season. I'm sure there's numerous tests we can now do to look at that reliability in the pool.

Signing off with a word for the prospects for the remainder of the season, Allison has conceded that the reliability woes have put pressure on George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli's PU allocations.

"And what is the allocation looking like for the rest of the season now? Because we're less than halfway through. Is there still plenty to play with? Well, it puts some pressure on the pool.

"So, we could put in a new power unit next race weekend, suffer no penalties, because we're still below the maximum number you're allowed to use in a year without penalty.

"But, of course, we're only a third of the way through the year, and so, a bit more. And so, that's going to put quite a strain on the remainder of the pool if we have to eke it out till the end of the year.

"So, we'll be just eyeballing up how to marshal those remaining resources in a good way. But, yes, it's obviously no fun when a power unit comes out of the pool before delivering its full life," concluded the Briton.