Lewis Hamilton predicts that Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli could face grid penalties in the 2026 Formula 1 season if they exceed the limits on power unit component usage. The seven-time world champion Ferrari driver first praised his team's reliability before drawing attention to Mercedes' early season problems.
Hamilton couldn't stop praising Ferrari's reliability.
Hamilton said the following about Ferrari's work discipline: “I have a great deal of admiration for them. We went into the season knowing that we needed to take our processes and the quality of our execution in race weekends to the next level. The guys in the garage put in incredible effort for the pit stops; our pit stop performance is very good. Everyone in the factory also worked tirelessly to ensure this consistency, and I believe that consistency will be the most critical factor making the difference this year.”
Russell was unable to finish the Canadian GP due to an electronic malfunction, while Antonelli similarly had to crawl out of the Barcelona GP. Hamilton believes these two early season setbacks could pose a serious problem for both drivers in the coming weeks.
“You’re seeing the engines having more problems than usual this year. I don’t know what the situation is with George and Kimi on the battery side, but I think at some point a penalty will be inevitable; after all, we only have a limit of two battery cells,” Hamilton said.
FIA component usage table: Mercedes and Ferrari are on equal footing.
In the 2026 F1 season, each driver will be allowed to use a maximum of four internal combustion engines (ICE), turbochargers (TC) and exhaust systems (EX) throughout the season; and three kinetic energy recovery units (MGU-K), energy storage units (ES) and control electronics (CE).
According to the power unit component usage table published by the FIA before the British GP, Russell and Antonelli have consumed three units each in the ICE, TC, and EX categories. Russell has also reached three units in the ES and CE categories, while remaining at two units in the MGU-K. Antonelli has only used one unit in the MGU-K so far. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Hamilton are also showing similar levels of ICE, TC, MGU-K, ES, and CE usage. The noteworthy point is that this table does not show which previously used components can be reactivated, meaning whether they are still available in what the teams call the "pool." It is also unclear whether the electrical components that failed in Russell's car in Canada and Antonelli's car in Barcelona can be reused.
At the British GP, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll received a grid penalty of 10 places for using a fifth energy tank and control electronics, exceeding the allowed number. However, since Stroll was already scheduled to start from 21st place, the penalty practically only resulted in a one-place loss, placing him behind his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Penalties may be back on the agenda.
Grid penalties resulting from power unit component overruns were a frequent topic of discussion in the early years of the V6 Hybrid era and during Honda's troubled debut with McLaren in 2015. Until now, this issue hasn't been highlighted because teams have been able to rotate available parts; however, it will become important again if the pool of components starts to shrink.