Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will start from the back of the grid in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after his Mercedes GP team introduced two new engines to his Silver Arrow, an amount which has breached the permitted allowance a driver can use during a single season.
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Significantly, Mercedes was the only team to use the supersoft rubber in the morning, with Rosberg going seven tenths quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but chose to avoid it in the afternoon as the German turned in the sixth best time.
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen finished third ahead of Sergio Perez of Force India and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
No matter where he qualifies on Saturday, Hamilton is nearly certain to start from the back row of the grid for Sunday’s race after new power unit components fitted to his vehicle in Friday practice took him over his quota of turbochargers and MGU-H units for the season.
Hamilton has a 19-point lead over Rosberg, his Mercedes rival, in the title race. “He may even do better than that”.
“It was a straightforward day for me but a tough one for the guys in the garage with the engine change”, said Hamilton, who was off the pace in practice on Friday as he concentrated on his race strategy.
Although practice lacked excitement, it was important for testing as drivers were given two extra sets of Pirelli tires, while some wore a protective halo device.
The Spa track, nestled in the Ardennes forest, is ordinarily known for its rather cool climate. That took his grid drop to 30 places.
No driver in the history of the sport has ever won from last on the grid. But Verstappen is also attracting interest from local fans because his mother is Belgian. I’m just trying to focus on getting the vehicle as well prepared for the race as I can, and I’ll take their lead on it.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon, one year older than Verstappen, is making his F1 debut for the Manor team.
“It was good to try it and they’ve done a great job with it because it doesn’t disturb me at all when I’m driving and increases the safety a lot”, Rosberg said.
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The FIA is looking at ways to improve cockpit protection and limit the risk of head injuries, after French F1 driver Jules Bianchi died in July a year ago, and British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died a month later.
