Mercedes changes Kimi Antonelli's power unit for Spa, escapes penalty for now

A fourth power unit has been fitted to Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes for the Belgian Grand Prix, GPblog can confirm. The German team added the new power unit to his pool and is inspecting the one used during the British Grand Prix as a precaution.

This also means that the current championship leader is one engine away from a grid penalty.

Both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton gained ground on Kimi Antonelli at Silverstone after the young Italian retired from the points following a car issue at the British Grand Prix. Heading into this weekend, Russell trails Antonelli by 25 points, while Hamilton is 32 points behind.

Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren confirmed that Norris will start the weekend with a 10-place grid penalty.

"We have chosen to do this in Belgium, a circuit where overtaking is relatively more prevalent, as opposed to the following two events in Hungary and Zandvoort. We now plan to use this fourth power electronics unit for the remainder of the season, in order to maximise reliability while minimising sporting penalties on Lando," McLaren explained.

In an interview with Canal+, Red Bull Racing driver Isack Hadjar also explained that he will start from the back of the grid at Spa-Francorchamps.