Lewis Hamilton at risk of facing further engine penalties that could end his F1 title defence
BRIT has just two engines left for the final three races with concerns they may not last
LEWIS HAMILTON risks facing more engine penalties that threaten to derail his F1 title defence.
The Brit has been plagued by reliability woes this season meaning he was forced to blood three new engines at the Belgium GP.
Mercedes had hoped the unscheduled increase in allocation -- that meant he started at the back of the grid in Spa -- would be enough to finish the season.
However, after his engine fire in Malaysia, Hamilton has just two engines left for the final three races -- with concerns growing that they might not last.
SunSport quizzed the Brit about Mercedes' decision to replace his fuel system ahead of qualifying for the US GP last week.
Despite being hesitant to answer, he then said: "Maybe you should ask Toto [Wolff] about it. He knows more, and there are knock-on effects, actually."
Merc chief Wolff confirmed that the change had been made as a precaution due to an irregularity found with a Mercedes-made part.
Consequently, Hamilton was down on power in Sunday's GP compared to his rival Nico Rosberg, yet still managed to win to reduce the German's lead in the championship to 26 points.
However, Hamilton feared his car would not make it over the line.
After his win in Texas, he said: "All I could think about was the car making it to the end - nothing else. It was the longest afternoon I could remember in my whole career.
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"You are feeling all the vibrations. I was trying to do less gear shifts to make the gearbox go longer than perhaps it wants to.
"Same with the engine - I wasn't doing 100 per cent throttle down the straight - I was pulling it back to 90, trying not to stretch it.
"For whatever reason it is more likely to happen on my car, so I was just trying to do everything to nurse it home.
"Every single lap I was thinking something might happen. When I get on that back straight I am petrified.
"I was haunted by Malaysia and dreading that would happen so I am so grateful that it didn't.
"It wasn't until I got over the line that I was like 'thank you, I am so happy', rubbing the cockpit -- 'thank you for getting me there'."
Mercedes have now decided about bringing any engine upgrades to the remaining three races with Wolff insisting the emphasis is on the title race being decided on track rather than with a mechanical breakdown.
Wolff added: "We have decided not to bring the latest spec engine and upgrades to every single Mercedes customer, not just us.
"We are running that specification to what it can run, so that hasn't changed.
"It is very stressful for the guys in the garage because there is a lot of responsibility and pressure on them.
"Everything that is being said, consciously or unconsciously, puts even more pressure. That's not the right thing to do.
"Our job needs to be to take pressure away because responsibility and accountability stays there anyway. This is how these guys work."