Williams may not take Mercedes upgrade

For the Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes used the remainder of their engine tokens for 2015 and debuted a new specification engine.

It is thought that the new Mercedes V6 Hybrid-Turbo offers higher performance levels of up to 40 extra horsepower.

Lewis Hamilton’s performance with the new spec engine was certainly dominant, however team-mate Nico Rosberg suffered reliability problems and in the end switched to an old engine, which ultimately failed due to the number of miles it had completed over the course of the season to-date.

Due to the above and having data for just one car from one race, Williams might not jump at the chance to take the new spec engine immediately.

‘There is obviously some risk analysis to be undertaken to know whether to use the new power unit or not. I think we are incredibly satisfied with what we have got, we have got the best power unit in Formula 1 and Mercedes allow us to use it very, very aggressively. So we feel it is a very reliable and a very powerful unit and that is great for us. Williams chief technical officer Pat Symonds told Sky Sports.

‘We are competitive people and we always want the next best thing, but I think we will be guided by the works team by how they get on – remember they have only done one race with one car with that power unit and there will be a lot of inspection going on.

‘What it is really good to see, though, is that they are not resting on their laurels, they are the dominant power unit, yet they are still pushing really hard for 2016.’

Unlike the likes of Red Bull Racing, McLaren Honda and Toro Rosso, Williams still have one penalty free engine to take on both cars this season, proving that the new Formula One engine regulations for 2015 are not quite so farcical as long as you are powered by Mercedes.