BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton to start from back of grid at Italian GP after taking engine penalty

Lewis Hamilton will start the Italian GP in Monza this weekend from the back of the grid because of a engine penalty. Mercedes will fit what their fourth power unit to the car, one more than what's permitted by F1, after damage sustained by the last engine during the 45G impact at Spa.

The penalty puts a damper on things, as Hamilton had said earlier this week that he wanted to fight for wins this season against championship leader Max Verstappen.

The Mercedes driver would have been pumped up after Ferrari's decision to split strategies in the Dutch GP at Zandvoort last Sunday compromised his podium hopes. Now, following his engine change, Hamilton will start the race in Monza from the back of the grid. A shot at winning the race looks unlikely from that position.

Ahead of the race weekend, Hamilton shared his eagerness to compete for wins against Verstappen. He knows that the team is still not there to compete with Red Bull but is buoyed by their promising performance in Zandvoort.

"I'm dying to get back in that race and have the opportunity to fight Max, but the day hasn't come (yet). There's so many great things to take (from the Dutch GP)."

He continued:

If this can be the same in the future races, we're going to be continuing to breathe down their necks and get that win. I'm taking all these positives forward, so grateful for the team and all their hard work because it has been a tough slog for all of them. Let's just not give up."

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Lewis Hamilton's team boss feels win was possible at Zandvoort

After the Dutch GP, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that the team had a good shot to win the race if not for the ill-timed VSC after the Yuki Tsunoda incident.

Wolff said that the incident involving the AlphaTauri driver needed to be looked into. He said:

"If we were to fight for a championship, that would be something I would closely look at. Now, I think what needs to be investigated for the safety of drivers and everybody out there. The driver stopped, unbuckled, did a full lap, came in, the problem wasn't solved, they put the seatbelts back on and he drove out and stopped the car again. That probably has changed the outcome of the race that we maybe could have won."

With Hamilton starting at the back of the grid, a win this weekend looks unlikely for the Mercedes driver.