British GP: Valtteri Bottas in precautionary Mercedes engine change

British GP underway at 2.10pm on Sunday, Sky F1 coverage from 12.30pm 

Valtteri Bottas will use a fresh version of Mercedes' latest engine at the British GP as a precautionary measure after his car failure last week in Austria.

Mercedes are taking no immediate chances with the power unit Bottas ran in Austria after it suffered high temperatures from heat soak after his hydraulics-related DNF last Sunday.
No grid penalty will be applied as Bottas remains within his engine allocation for the season.

British GP underway on Sunday at 2.10pm, Sky F1 coverage from 12.30pm
The unit raced in Canada and Austria will, however, be used again and 'thoroughly checked' at the next race in Germany.

The unlocking of another engine for Silverstone does mean Bottas has now reached the penalty-free limit on certain engine parts for the season.
Mercedes have confirmed four of the six power unit elements have been changed - Internal Combustion Engine, MGU-H, turbocharger and MGU-K.
"Clearly it was something they want to check it out before they run it again," said Sky F1's Martin Brundle.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have a go at Sky F1's foot darts challenge.

"They delayed the introduction of that engine so there is no doubt about it, Mercedes are a little bit off balance at the moment."
Lewis Hamilton also retired in Austria due to technical reasons but the Englishman is set to continue with the same engine raced there, with the title contender revealing on Thursday that the team had managed to implement immediate fixes for the problems that stopped his car for the first time in 34 races.
It's summer, it's Silverstone and it's the 2018 British Grand Prix! Don't miss a minute of Sky F1's extensive coverage - featuring 2009 world champion Jenson Button - across the weekend. Sunday's race begins at 2.10pm with build-up from 12.30pm Get Sky Sports F1.

Comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.