Turkish GP: Hamilton takes 10-place penalty after engine change

Cian Cheesbrough

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Lewis Hamilton has a slender lead in the F1 World Championship

Lewis Hamilton will start the Turkish GP with a 10-place grid penalty as he looks to maintain his slender lead over Max Verstappen in the Formula One World Championship title race.

Mercedes have fitted the seven-time champion with his fourth engine of the season — exceeding the three that F1 regulations permit — to leave him with the penalty.

Just two points separate the Championship leader and Red Bull’s Verstappen.

Hamilton is set to avoid the back-of-the-track start that Verstappen suffered at the Russian GP a fortnight ago after only one element was changed on the Brit's power unit.

Verstappen recovered from 20th to second in Sochi to limit Hamilton’s lead despite taking a big penalty for using a completely new Honda engine.

Mercedes have opted to use their fourth new power unit in order to limit Hamilton losing ground on Verstappen further down the line with six races still to take place.

On the potential of using a fresh engine, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said earlier this week: "Most important is that you don't DNF because of a reliability issue.

"You can cope with swings, whether you finish second, third, I think that is OK, the championship is going to go long. But if you don't finish.

"So we are looking at the parameters of the engines, making sure we don't suffer from any reliability problems."

Hamilton finished fastest in the first practice in Istanbul on Friday morning.

Title rivals staying cool

Max Verstappen trails Lewis Hamilton by two points in a tight race for the Championship

Both Hamilton and Verstappen are staying cool under the pressure as they get ready to renew their battle this weekend.

Hamilton won the 2020 race to clinch his seventh world title but has considerably more work to do this time around if he is to fend off Red Bull’s Verstappen and clinch a record-breaking eighth.

Hamilton insists he will use his wealth of experience to stay calm ahead of the battle.

Earlier this week, he said: "I generally find it relatively easy as I have other outlets and I'm able to blow off steam in lots of different ways.

"It's not a case of ignoring it as it's there. It's a case of understanding what will be, will be.

"All you can do is prepare the best way you can and give 100% so I don't worry about these things.

"I've had lots of ups and downs in the past, but I've had an amazing time with a lot of growth. I just prepare for now which means doing the work with the guys back in the factory.

"Then, ultimately it's a case of going out and enjoying. It's been a very engaging season with two teams neck-and-neck which is amazing. Of course, you want to win but you've got to learn to not let that overtake everything in your life."

Max Verstappen (right) and Lewis Hamilton (left) renew their rivalry again this weekend

Verstappen, meanwhile, has been similarly coy as he continues in his bid to end Hamilton’s dominance and earn his first world title.

While his title rival won in Russia a fortnight ago, the Dutchman kept the pressure on by managing a shock second after capitalising on Lando Norris spinning off in the rain late on.

Ahead of Istanbul, Verstappen said: "The whole team wants to win so that mentality is definitely there.

"But it is nothing you can force or you have to stress about because we always want to do the best we can.

"If that is going to be first it is an amazing achievement — it is what we work for — but even if we finish second it will be a great season and, at the end of the day, it is not really going to change my life.

"I enjoy what I am doing and that's very important. For me, there is not that much to worry about, really.

"You just have to work hard together and then we will find out at the end of the season where that will put us. Is that first or second? We don't know."