Toto Wolff has described Lewis Hamilton's latest reliability trouble "bizarre" after the Briton suffered the same issue which forced him out of qualifying at the last race in China.
Q3 looked set for a Mercedes pole position showdown with Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg trading quickest times in the previous two sessions, but upon Hamilton's return to the pits following his final Q2 lap, it became apparent that all was not right with his engine.
The Briton had to retire from the session and failed to set a time in Q3, therefore qualifying tenth as a result.
Speaking after the session, Wolff admitted it was the same problem that saw Hamilton start last in China that had struck again this weekend in Russia.
"It’s a very bizarre situation," said Wolff. "It seems like we had the same failure that we had in Shanghai.
"It's motor racing, that can happen, but it’s very unfortunate that it happens to Lewis now again. He seems to have all the bad luck and the other side of the garage seems to have all the luck. But for Nico, he deserved it, I guess.
"Well he has been great so far this season, he has been taking all the low punches with a great spirit. It’s getting tough, and I have no doubts he is gonna come out of that. But at the moment I think he has every right to be upset."
Wolff admitted he wasn't sure whether Hamilton would drop further back, should they need to replace parts of his power unit which would require his car to be removed from parc ferme conditions.
"I hope not, but again we need to discuss with the FIA what we want to do – hopefully we’ll be able to make it without penalties," he added.
