Round-up: Spate of Mercedes power unit failures ‘originate in same part of battery’, and more | RaceFans Round-up
June 20, 2026
Welcome to Saturday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
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Episode 4: The fight is on (Mercedes)
‘This has laid a few Mercedes engine cars low over the season so far. They’re not all identical but they do sort of originate in the same broad part of the battery and I think that most of the areas of risk have been understood and with a bit of luck when we start to phase in the new modules into the racing season – we call the battery the module – then our fortunes as a fleet should pick up. And obviously, for us, that’s an important thing. These DNFs are very, very painful.’
Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix (Aston Martin)
‘The session will mark Jak’s fourth FP1 appearance for the team and his second of the 2026 season. It also represents the second of the team’s four mandated rookie practice sessions this year.’
Nasr on standby for Penske as Newgarden continues to recover from foot injury (Racer)
‘I was in the sim two days ago and got time to get used to the systems, the hybrid, the regen, and also just to feel the attitude of the car, some setup changes, which was all very much appreciated, because it’s always good to refresh my mind.’
‘I should be higher up’ – Goethe reflects on tough start to the 2026 season (Formula 2)
‘It’s been little errors that have been very costly. Like in Miami and also Melbourne race one. In the feature race in Melbourne, I feel like I did a really good race. I executed it well.’
Motorsport UK hosts Business Secretary, The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP (Motorsport UK)
‘The UK motorsport sector is one of the country’s most successful advanced engineering industries, generating £16bn in annual turnover and supporting 50,000 highly-skilled jobs. Over the last decade, the sector has grown from £9bn to £16bn turnover while increasing employment from 41,000 to 50,000 jobs. Today, 89% of motorsport businesses export goods and services, while companies invest heavily in research and development, helping transfer technologies and expertise into automotive, aerospace, defence and future mobility sectors.’
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Julie, M744all and Erivaldo moreira!
On this day in motorsport
Max Verstappen grabbed another win in his title fight with Lewis Hamilton today in 2021
Five years ago today, Max Verstappen jumped ahead of Lewis Hamilton through the pit stops to win the French Grand Prix
47 today: Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles
55 years ago today Jacky Ickx won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort for Ferrari
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Published by
Keith Collantine
Originally published on www.racefans.net — View original
Social media and links
Episode 4: The fight is on (Mercedes)
‘This has laid a few Mercedes engine cars low over the season so far. They’re not all identical but they do sort of originate in the same broad part of the battery and I think that most of the areas of risk have been understood and with a bit of luck when we start to phase in the new modules into the racing season – we call the battery the module – then our fortunes as a fleet should pick up. And obviously, for us, that’s an important thing. These DNFs are very, very painful.’
Crawford to drive in FP1 at Austrian Grand Prix (Aston Martin)
‘The session will mark Jak’s fourth FP1 appearance for the team and his second of the 2026 season. It also represents the second of the team’s four mandated rookie practice sessions this year.’
Nasr on standby for Penske as Newgarden continues to recover from foot injury (Racer)
‘I was in the sim two days ago and got time to get used to the systems, the hybrid, the regen, and also just to feel the attitude of the car, some setup changes, which was all very much appreciated, because it’s always good to refresh my mind.’
‘I should be higher up’ – Goethe reflects on tough start to the 2026 season (Formula 2)
‘It’s been little errors that have been very costly. Like in Miami and also Melbourne race one. In the feature race in Melbourne, I feel like I did a really good race. I executed it well.’
Motorsport UK hosts Business Secretary, The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP (Motorsport UK)
‘The UK motorsport sector is one of the country’s most successful advanced engineering industries, generating £16bn in annual turnover and supporting 50,000 highly-skilled jobs. Over the last decade, the sector has grown from £9bn to £16bn turnover while increasing employment from 41,000 to 50,000 jobs. Today, 89% of motorsport businesses export goods and services, while companies invest heavily in research and development, helping transfer technologies and expertise into automotive, aerospace, defence and future mobility sectors.’
RaceFans always endeavours to credit original sources. Want to share a relevant motorsport link with us? Send it in via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free