The world champions introduced two brand-new upgraded engines for Hamilton’s auto, breaching the permitted allowance a driver can use during a single season, and condemning the championship leader to the back row for Sunday’s race.
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Hamilton can expect to start last, and many have slammed F1’s penalty system under the long-life engine components rules.
Those cries of sabotage, of course, were soon denied by Hamilton and Mercedes-who even issued an open letter to reassure their supporters-and quickly faded away when the No. 44 auto returned to winning ways in May’s Monaco Grand Prix, sparking a run of six wins in seven races.
The Briton is already set for a 30-place grid drop, with Mercedes fitting his auto with two new power units ahead of each of yesterday’s practice sessions.
As it now stands, Hamilton will start back of the pack alongside his old teammate at McLaren, Fernando Alonso. Rosberg came ahead of his British teammate Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader, followed by Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen from Finland.
“What I’m saying is that there are other places you could overtake if the vehicle in front is struggling, but that’s unlikely as you get further up the grid”.
The Dutchman delighted the thousands of his home fans who have crossed the border to cheer on their new national hero, who earlier this season became the youngest man ever to win an F1 grand prix.
Belgian-born Verstappen said: “Compared to other competitors, we showed great pace today, I think better than expected”.
The 24-year-old Vandoorne, who won the GP2 series last year, is now a reserve driver for McLaren but is very highly rated.
“I just drove on the super soft tyres and it lasted three laps”, Hamilton said. “I’ll just do the best job I can with it and hope for the best”. “As long as I’m going forward that’s all that matters”.
Watch as Ted Kravitz explains the reasons behind Lewis Hamilton’s mammoth grid penalty for the Belgian GP.
“Every driver is essentially restricted to five power units per season and if they go above that, because of unreliability or breakdowns, they have to take grid penalties”.
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The fitting of an eighth MGU-H and turbocharger, a sixth MGU-K and internal combustion engine adds a further 25-place penalty, taking the total penalty to 55 places.
