Max Verstappen will start the Italian Grand Prix no higher than sixth position after he was slapped with a five-place penalty.
The Red Bull star is a favourite to win the race at Monza given his imperious form and huge championship lead. But his task has been made harder after his team decided this is the right time to take one a new internal combustion engine.
This latest ICE is in excess of the annual allowance for drivers, meaning it comes with an automatic penalty. The first violation of that rule would usually come with a 10-place grid drop, but as it is his second component beyond the allowance the punishment is halved.
Verstappen remains favourite for most, though, considering his recent record of winning from unfavourable starting positions. He took the chequered flag in Hungary having started 10th, and did even better at the Belgian Grand Prix when he took victory from 14th on the grid.
Meanwhile, his team-mate Sergio Perez is also out of contention for pole position. He has been given a grid penalty of at least 10 places, after also having his car fitted with a new ICE for this weekend's race.
FIA documents also confirmed the expected penalty for Lewis Hamilton. The Brit will start the race from the back of the grid with multiple new components on his Mercedes, while Ferrari star Carlos Sainz will join him due to a gearbox change.
Valtteri Bottas has incurred a 15-place grid penalty for new engine components. And Yuki Tsunoda will also start from the back of the grid – AlphaTauri chose to introduce new engine components as he already faced a hefty grid drop for receiving his fifth reprimand of the season last time out at Zandvoort.
With Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton and Sainz all taking penalties, the door is open for Charles Leclerc to take pole and give himself a good chance of victory at Ferrari's home race. George Russell will also fancy his chances, if his Mercedes car performs as well as it did last weekend in the Netherlands.
