Mercedes is “optimistic” that Nico Rosberg will avoid a gearbox penalty at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix despite hitting trouble two weeks ago at Silverstone.
Rosberg lost seventh gear during the closing stages of the British Grand Prix, prompting Mercedes to give him instructions over the radio to prevent a terminal failure.
Gearboxes are required to last six grands prix under the 2016 regulations, Rosberg taking his last two rounds ago in Austria after crashing in FP3.
That gearbox is required to last until the Singapore Grand Prix in September, but concerns were raised after the issue at Silverstone.
Rosberg will use the gearbox during practice on Friday to ensure that it is able to be used over the remainder of the weekend.
“We will be running the race gearbox tomorrow to make sure it is OK and are optimistic that it will be,” a spokesperson for Mercedes said.
Rosberg arrived in Hungary leading the drivers’ championship by a single point after seeing Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton cut down the 43-point gap that existed before Monaco.
Rosberg is refusing to dwell on his difficult run of form, and is instead focusing on chalking up his first win in Hungary.
“I have reflected on each individual [race] once it’s done and then I’ve moved on,” Rosberg said.
“Feeling good, feeling excited to be here.
“It’s been a good season so far and I’m going to try and win this weekend, of course.”
Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports
Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.
Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.
Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.
The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.
In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.
Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.
Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.
Last Five Seattle Winners
450s 2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto
