30-place penalty for Hamilton

Mercedes have confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will take a 30-place drop at the Belgian GP as they replaced his engine twice.

Early Friday morning FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer released a technical report in which Mercedes confirmed which components had been replaced ahead of FP1.

Hamilton ran a new turbocharger and MGU-H on Friday morning, bringing his tally up to six for the season for both.  That meant a 15-place drop on the grid.

“The turbocharger used by Lewis Hamilton is the sixth new turbocharger for the 2015 Championship season and as this is not in conformity with Article 28.4a and 28.4b of the 2015 Formula One Sporting Regulations,” read Bauer’s report.

It added that the team also “informed the technical delegate about the MGU-H change on Tuesday.”

It was reported that Hamilton could face further penalties if Mercedes opted to make additional changes before Sunday’s race, and they did just that at lunch on Friday.

The team tweeted at the start of FP2: “Lewis Hamilton is running a fresh PU in FP2 . So, ICE 5, MGU-K 5, MGU-H 7 and TC 7. This means a further 15 place penalty.”

Although his team-mate Nico Rosberg has the same new parts, the German’s engine was only changed ahead of FP1 and he is still within the allotted five for the season.