World champion set to be sent back at least ten places at Spa
Monday 29 August 2016 10:42, UK
Lewis Hamilton will take a grid penalty at this weekend's Belgian GP with Mercedes expecting the world championship leader to start from the back of the grid at Spa.
"As far as l am aware we will be taking a penalty this weekend," Hamilton told reporters at Spa.
The demotion, which will be worth at least ten places, is a hangover from the reliability woes Hamilton suffered at the start of the season.
Mercedes have confirmed Hamilton will take a penalty, but are yet to decide the severity of the punishment they will trigger. But a spokesperson for the team acknowledged 'it is safe to assume he will start from the back of the field or very close'.
The three-time world champion leads this year's title race by 19 points from Nico Rosberg.
"I'll do everything l can to minimise the impact the penalty will have," added Hamilton.
The lowest starting position for any of Hamilton's 49 victories is sixth at the British GP in July 2014. A month later, the Englishman finished third in the Hungarian GP after starting from the pitlane and spinning off at the second corner.
No F1 driver has ever won a race after starting last on the grid.
"I really don't know how far I can get up, it depends on the pace of the other cars," said the Mercedes driver.
"When I started last in Hungary a couple of years ago when the gaps were much bigger I came third, Sunday will definitely be harder than that. I just hope I can get into points. As long as I'm going forward that's all that matters."
The Mercedes driver has reached the penalty-free limit for two of the six power-unit elements that the current rulebook regard as comprising an F1 engine.
A 10-place grid penalty is applied whenever a sixth unit of any of those elements is first used by a driver. A five-place penalty is then imposed the first time a remaining sixth element is introduced.
Hamilton's engine plight explained
Having previously indicated they would elect to trigger his long-anticipated demotion in either Belgium or at next week's Italian GP at overtaking-friendly Monza, Mercedes are expected to fit Hamilton's car with at least two new engines whenever the penalty is taken. The Englishman would then suffer his penalty in a single hit rather than run the risk of enduring a series of demotions during the rest of the season.
Although Hamilton's penalty may be in excess of the 22 positions on this year's grid, any remaining demotions can't be carried over for subsequent races after the rules were amended at the start of the year.
Sunday's race will be the first since the sport broke up at the end of July for a summer break.
