Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton played down fears that he could have to take an engine penalty at the Turkish Grand Prix, without ruling it out completely.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff indicated after the Russian Grand Prix that it was a possibility to protect against an engine-related race retirement and the loss of vital points.
The championship is on a knife-edge, with Hamilton two points clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and seven races remaining.
The seven-times F1 champion is still within his engine allocation of three for the season but team mate Valtteri Bottas is on his fifth engine and Verstappen took a penalty in Russia for his fourth.
"At the moment, I still have (PU) number two and three," Hamilton told reporters on Thursday at the Istanbul Park circuit. "So I don't envisage us having to take one at the moment, but that could change. Who knows?"
Hamilton won a rain-affected race in Istanbul last year, from sixth on the grid, to clinch his seventh world championship but the track has been water-blasted since in an effort to improve grip.
“It was of course an incredible moment and what a difficult race,” said Hamilton. “It was a challenging weekend... a really difficult weekend for us as a team. To then have come out on top, with no real mistakes within the race – it was an emotional time."
Speaking of the race weekend ahead, the Mercedes driver said: “I think the track has potentially shifted a little bit. So we might be faced with slightly different challenges this weekend."
Hamilton will be starting his 282nd Grand Prix on Sunday in Istanbul.
Latest News
Loading
