Hamilton hit with 10-place grid penalty for Turkish GP

Lewis Hamilton will take a 10-place grid penalty in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix following Mercedes' decision to add a new ICE to the Briton's pool of hardware.

Mercedes had been mulling an engine change in the run-up to this weekend's race in order to safeguard Hamilton's level of reliability in the final seven races of the season.

"We believe that between P1 and P2, with the fastest lap, that if you have one DNF it needs the other guy four races to catch up," recently said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

"And that's brutal. So you can afford to finish four times in second [place]. Therefore, you just need to really play it safe while not giving up performance."

• Read also - Hamilton: Focus on '22 blocked development push of W12

The Brackley squad was also compelled to make a call following Red Bull's decision in Russia to add a fourth power unit to Max Verstappen's engine inventory.

The tactical move proved successful as the Dutchman finished P2 in Sochi behind Hamilton after starting his race from the back row of the grid.

Mercedes has apparently opted to only introduce a new ICE for Hamilton, not a full unit, thus limiting the Briton's demotion at Istanbul Park to 10 spots on the grid.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter