Monza (Italy) (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton will change engines for the Italian Grand Prix this weekend incurring a grid penalty, the Mercedes team said on Thursday.
"Lewis has taken a new Power Unit for this event - his fourth of the season - and will take a grid penalty for Sunday's race" at Monza, the team tweeted.
The rules allow each driver three power units a year - they can make further changes but at a cost in the form of some sort of grid penalty.
"It has not yet been confirmed whether the seven-time champion will be relegated to the back of the grid," reported the Formula One website.
The British driver damaged his last engine at the Belgian GP on August 28 in a first lap collision with Spaniard Fernando Alonso's Alpine.
Hamilton then finished fourth in the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend as his search for a first win of the season continues.
Mercedes added in a statement: "We will be fitting PU#4 this weekend for Lewis.
"This is because although we are still working on the recovery plan for PU#3 that was damaged in Spa, that unit cannot be run this weekend.
"This will come with associated grid penalties as it’s in excess of the allocation for the season."
Hamilton is sixth in the drivers championship, 152 points behind Red Bull's world champion and runaway series leader Max Verstappen, who took a penalty in Belgium and still won the race.
