Why are Mercedes keen to downplay new Wundermotor?

F1 News
Wednesday, 16 September 2015 at 12:17
sne16315 mercedes
At Monza Mercedes unleashed an upgraded version of their all conquering F1 power unit, which was described as 'scary' by rivals and Nico Rosberg will be using the new power unit in Singapore.
The German will use the very same new-specification Mercedes engine that was removed from his car ahead of qualifying at Monza, and which powered teammate Lewis Hamilton to an easy victory in Italy.
That is the claim of Auto Motor und Sport, as new details about Mercedes' upgraded 'power unit' now begin to emerge.
Meanwhile latest speculation suggests that Mercedes revealed too much, too soon at Monza, and subsequently "turned down the wick" substantially on Hamilton's power unit for qualifying and the race.
Hamilton Monza Mercedes
Auto Bild describes the unit that cost Mercedes all remaining seven of its performance upgrade 'tokens' before Monza as a 'Wundermotor'.
But Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff downplayed the team's latest engine updgrade, "It brings not so much more horse power, but it works more efficiently. We wanted something to test in connection with a new fuel for 2016."
The remarks by the Wolff do not reflect with what transpired at Monza in practice where at one point the Silver Arrows duo were two seconds better than the rest.
In the race Hamilton went on to win comfortably at Monza and some rivals were amazed by the potential of the new engine. Rosberg's unit was removed before qualifying amid reliability concerns only for the older version to expire within sight of the finish line.
But Auto Motor und Sport claims the replaced unit will now be used by the German driver in Singapore, after post-Monza investigations showed that the power unit itself was undamaged.
Mercedes power unit F1 engine
"It turns out it had nothing to do with the engine. It was a chassis component that we've had on the car for a long time. So with hindsight, it was perfectly ok to put the new engine in," he added.
The report said Mercedes will now be preparing the engine specification for customers Williams, Lotus and Force India to use at subsequent races if they desire.
Auto Bild said the specification is fundamentally different from its predecessor, as it features an "innovative, fuel-efficient combustion process".
So after a miserable weekend of reliability at Monza, Rosberg is hoping for smoother sailing this weekend and it remains to be seen if Mercedes keep the switch turned down on the latest version of their Wundermotor.
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