Lewis Hamilton is set to start from the back of the grid at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Brit comes into the event after a heartbreaking finish to last weekend's race, where he fell out of the podium spots over the course of the final 10 laps. But before that ending, he had been in contention for the victory for the first time all season.
But his task of repeating the trick has been made all the more difficult at Monza. Mercedes have confirmed that they plan to give the Brit new engine components that would take him beyond the allowed amount during a season, incurring a grid penalty.
"We will be fitting PU number for this weekend for Lewis," said a Mercedes spokesperson. "This is because although we are still working on the recovery plan for PU number three 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."
While the Silver Arrows have struggled for pace at times this season, they have enjoyed near-bulletproof reliability. But Hamilton's hefty collision with Fernando Alonso at the Belgian Grand Prix has cast doubt on the stability of the power unit he was using during that race.
It took a huge 46G impact as the car slammed into the floor. Mercedes engineers are still evaluating whether or not that engine will be able to return to the pool, but it does not seem likely and so they have opted to introduce fresh parts for Hamilton to use between now and the end of the season.
Hamilton will have a familiar rival with him at the back of the grid after it was confirmed Valtteri Bottas will also take a penalty. The Brit's old Mercedes team-mate, now racing for Alfa Romeo, suffered an engine failure last weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, in a blow to most of the crowd that will be gathered at Monza this weekend, Carlos Sainz is another driver who looks likely to take a penalty. That means a Ferrari would be at the back of the grid at its home race.
Team boss Mattia Binotto has not yet confirmed that the new engine will be introduced at Monza, but admitted that a penalty is coming "sooner or later". And Sainz added: "We will have to replace the engine very soon and take a grid penalty – it will be a lighter power unit and that should help us because we are still a bit overweight."
