FIA announce Lewis Hamilton PENALTY at Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton's Belgian Grand Prix weekend has already been a disaster but now the Ferrari star has been hit by an FIA punishment before F1 goes racing at Spa on Sunday.

The British racing legend has had a miserable time in Belgium so far, being eliminated in both the sprint qualifying and main qualifying - having also been only able to finish 15th in Saturday's sprint race.

But now the seven-time world champion will be forced to start from the pit-lane after Ferrari changed a raft of engine components on his car that have breached Formula One sporting regulations.

By taking on a new power unit, turbocharger, two different motor generators and an energy store along with new control electronics - Hamilton has breached his season allocation on each of them.

The 40-year-old's Ferrari has also had its suspension changed with all mentioned breaking parc ferme rules without the FIA's consent.

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari hit with penalty

As a result, Hamilton will now have to start the event from the pit-lane but it could prove a masterstroke move for Ferrari.

Hamilton had already qualified in a miserable 16th place among the 20 drivers having had his quickest recorded lap deleted during Saturday's Q1 qualifying session.

But the expected wet weather in Spa materialised on Sunday, and with it the possibility of safety car running during the race has increased significantly given the treacherous conditions drivers will face in the difficult conditions.

Hamilton has often proven an excellent racer in the wet and with a fresh batch of parts on his car and setup tweaks made could take full advantage on Sunday afternoon in his attempts to drive through the chasing pack from the back.

It wasn't just Hamilton and Ferrari who broke parc ferme though to make similar changes. Mercedes and Aston Martin have also made engine component changes to their car with respective drivers Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso, with both also requiring to start from the pitlane.

Out in front it's a McLaren front-row lockout for the race with Lando Norris pipping team-mate Oscar Piastri to pole position, with Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc leading the second row in front of world champion Max Verstappen.

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