Williams to have Mercedes engine upgrade for USGP

Pat Symonds has revealed that Williams will receive a new power unit upgrade for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

The British team was supposed to receive the latest spec of the Mercedes engine in Suzuka two weeks ago but the German manufacturer decided to play it safe after Lewis Hamilton’s failure in Malaysia in delaying customer power units.

With Williams currently involved in a close fight over P4 in the Constructors’ championship with Force India, Symonds hopes Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas can put their fresh engines to good use at the Circuit of the Americas.

“Austin is one of those modern tracks that has been built to really stretch both the driver and the car,” the team's chief technical officer said. “After turn one, the succession of corners is reminiscent of the first part of Suzuka and just as challenging, may be even more so than that classic track.

“We hope the circuit will reward our new power unit upgrade being introduced for this event.”

Talking about the 2015 washout at COTA, Symonds added: “Whilst last year’s event was severely disrupted by weather, we hope for a more straightforward weekend this time around.

“Apart from the weather, one of the surprise features last year was how bumpy the circuit had become in just twelve months.

“We certainly are hoping that it hasn’t degraded any further as last year was a challenge, and ultimately led to the retirement of both our cars.”

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