Mercedes are concerned about Kimi Antonelli’s power unit reliability after a failure forced his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Antonelli was poised to secure his first points in three races when his power unit faltered, sending him into the gravel and triggering a safety car that shook up the race’s final laps.
The retirement capped a frustrating European leg for the Italian, who has not scored since his sixth-place finish in Miami in May.
Mercedes’ technical director, James Allison, confirmed the team have launched an investigation into the issue, with implications extending beyond their own cars to customer teams Aston Martin and Williams.
“We don’t yet know what failed in the power unit,” Allison said. “It’s back at Brixworth for analysis. They’ll strip it down, identify the issue, and make recommendations for the entire pool of race engines across our team and our customers to prevent a repeat.”
The failure poses a significant challenge for Mercedes, with 15 races still to go in the 2025 season. If the incident in Spain damaged all components, internal combustion engine, MGU-H, MGU-K, and turbocharger, Antonelli will need a new power unit for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix.
This would mark his third allocation of each component this year, with only four allowed per driver before grid penalties are incurred.
“It puts pressure on our component pool,” Allison admitted. “We could install a new power unit in Canada without penalties, as we’re still within the season’s allocation limits.
“But with over half the season left, we’ll need to carefully manage our remaining resources to avoid issues later.”
The setback has sparked discussions within Mercedes about how to optimize their engine strategy, ensuring reliability for Antonelli and their customer teams. Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely as the team navigates this challenge at the Canadian Grand Prix, set for 70 laps around the 4.361-kilometer Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 15.
