Hamilton hit with grid penalty after engine change

Lewis Hamilton is to be hit with a 10-place grid penalty for this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

Mercedes has changed the internal combustion engine only on Hamilton's W12 for the event at the Istanbul Park circuit.

The engine will be the fourth of the season for the seven-time F1 champion, with only three allowed under the regulations.

Hamilton came into the weekend down to his final two systems for the year which he had conceded were being nursed at in a bid to make it through to the end of the F1 season.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had also stated the team "had a few balls in the air" with regard to managing the power unit situation.

Its hand has now been shown, with Mercedes opting only for the engine change and taking a smaller hit now rather than swapping the entire PU, resulting in a back-of-the-grid start.

The decision automatically hands the advantage for this weekend's race over to F1 title rival Max Verstappen, who trails Hamilton by just two points in the standings.

Verstappen took a full power unit change for the last race in Russia and emerged from it with a positive damage-limitation result in finishing second to Hamilton.

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