Bottas hit with Russian GP grid drop after engine change

Valtteri Bottas will start Sunday's Russian Grand Prix from the lower end of the grid following Mercedes' decision to replace several power unit elements.

The changes should place Bottas, who qualified seventh, P17 on the grid, or three spots ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton's title rival Max Verstappen, a position that could complicate the Red Bull driver's move up the order, especially on a track where overtaking isn't easy.

As a reminder, Mercedes had added a fourth complete engine to Bottas' pool of hardware in Monza. The latest changes should ensure a penalty-free clean run for the Finn until the end of the season.

In addition to Bottas and Verstappen, Williams' Nicolas Latifi and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc were also the recipient of either new components or a new engine in Sochi. The Monegasque is set to line up on the last row on Sunday afternoon alongside Verstappen.

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Hamilton, who currently sits second in the drivers' standings, just 5 points behind Verstappen, should be next in line to be handed a fourth engine and thus a back-row start.

In Sochi, the Briton said that he had "absolutely no idea" when he would be assigned a fourth power unit by Mercedes.

"In terms of engines, I have absolutely no idea," he said after qualifying in Russia. "Of course I've lost one engine, Valtteri's had several. And there's been others that Mercedes have seen up and down the paddock.

"So right now my I'm trying to treat my engines, the ones that we put in, with the absolute care when I'm driving, in terms of how much I'm gassing it, how much I'm revving the thing, revving the nuts off it, just really trying to minimise the laps that I do.

"But who knows? I can't control the future."

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