25/08/2016
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that he will take a grid penalty for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
Although Mercedes has yet to officially confirm it, reports doing the rounds of the Spa paddock claim Hamilton will take on a sixth turbocharger and MGU-H in FP1, resulting in a grid drop of 15 places, whilst there is talk of a further turbocharger and MGU-H on Saturday, the seventh of each, which would put him at the back of the grid.
While not confirming exactly what components he will be taking on, speaking at today's press conference, the Briton admitted he faces the prospect of a heavy penalty on Sunday.
"As far as I am aware we will be taking the penalty this weekend," he told reporters. "Naturally we have already discussed engine penalties that will come into play, but I will do everything I can to minimise the impact I have.
"Beyond that penalty that I will eventually take, I think I will be able to continue with the momentum I had before the break," he continued.
"I think, in terms of winning, that is the goal, but it will be very, very hard, the gap has closed between other cars, we are in third year of evolution of cars and Red Bull is quick, same as Ferrari," he admitted.
"It will be harder than it was last year or the year before to climb through field, It will be about minimising the damage of taking a penalty."
Asked if he thought it was right that he, or any driver, should be punished for the "incompetence" of the team, or engine manufacturer, he said: "It is a team sport, so we win and lose together as a team, sometimes it is not just a mistake just a thing that happens. I don't look at it as incompetence, I look at it as a learning experience because we learned from the issues and they won't happen again."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Spa, here.