Racer Lewis Hamilton faces a grid penalty when the Formula One season restarts in Belgium after a summer break.
Hamilton faces the punishment for fitting too many engine parts.
The transgression means he is likely to start at least 20 places back from pole position should he head the qualifiers for the grand prix in Spa.
Formula One drivers are allowed a fixed number of engine parts when they fit more than six parts.
Hamilton’s car has already used his allocation and faces a penalty of 10 grid places for each time he breaches the limit – which has done so already twice.
Back of the field
With 22 cars lining up for the race, he can only go to the back of the field regardless of how many more times he has extra parts fitted.
Hamilton and his team are keeping quiet on whether they are deliberately banking on him coming through the field to win or whether the parts were fitted in error.
The parts are electronics and energy stores for the engine.
The driving championship looked over when Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg stormed into a 43-point lead after only four grand prix.
Hamilton zoomed back into contention after six wins in the past seven races to notch a 19-point lead in the driver’s table.
He heads the competition with 217 points, Rosberg is second with 198 points and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo is third with 133 points.
Rosberg v Hamilton scores
Hamilton is likely to have handed Rosberg victory in Belgium as the Mercedes cars dominate the tournament.
In qualifying, they have almost a one second gap between them and the next fastest team, Ferrari.
The extra performance gives Mercedes an almost unassailable lead as Ferrari and Red Bull just do not have the acceleration to catch them.
The driver championship is wide open with eight more grand prix after Belgium. The winning driver collects 25 points, with the drivers finishing in second to tenth places collecting 18 down to one point.
Rosberg returns to the top of the table if he wins in Belgium and Hamilton finishes in eighth position or lower. They tie if Rosberg wins and Hamilton comes seventh, while Hamilton retains a slender lead if he crosses the line in sixth place or above.
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