Lewis Hamilton will start from the rear of the grid for the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday after he was handed an engine penalty.
The Mercedes driver will start his Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid on Sunday at Monza owing to an engine change, leaving the seven-time world champion chasing for the lead from behind.
Mercedes was compelled to use an older unit last weekend at Zandvoort because Hamilton’s power unit at Spa was damaged in the British driver’s first lap collision with Fernando Alonso.
Although Mercedes’ engineers at Brixworth are currently determining whether parts from Hamilton’s Spa unit can ultimately be salvaged, the latter’s mileage has rendered the engine beyond its useful life. In order to compete in this weekend’s race at Monza, Mercedes was forced to add a new engine to Hamilton’s collection of equipment.
The fourth power unit of the campaign that the British driver will be required to use in Monza will be one more than is permitted by Formula One regulations.
Just a week after he apologized for calling out to his team for ” screwing” him after a strategy error at the Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton’s looming penalty practically kills his chances of competing for the race win.
Prior to his opening-lap crash with Fernando Alonso at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago, the seven-time world champion could have been able to finish the 22-race season with three engines.
After making contact with the Spaniard, Hamilton was propelled into the air, an accident for which Alonso called Hamilton an “idiot.” Following the collision, he suffered a water leak, and Mercedes doesn’t think the engine is fully ready for usage.
“We will be fitting a fourth power unit this weekend for Lewis,” a Mercedes spokesperson said. “This is because, although we are still working on the recovery plan for the power unit that was damaged in Spa, that unit cannot be run this weekend.”
Hamilton will have the opportunity to move up through the pack on the fast Monza track, but the news will be just another setback in his tough campaign.
Hamilton, who hasn’t claimed victory since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last year, is 152 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the standings and 30 points behind teammate George Russell.
