Hamilton gets grid penalty at Spa

Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday's (August 28) Belgian Formula One Grand Prix from near the back of the grid as the world championship leader takes a hefty penalty for exceeding his allowed allocation of engine components.

Just how many places he will drop on Sunday remains unclear, however, with a team spokesman saying only that the Briton was expected to start at the back or very close to the back of the grid.

Hamilton holds a 19-point lead in the standings over team mate Nico Rosberg with nine of a record 21 races still to run.

He has won six of the past seven grands prix and heads into the weekend gunning to become only the third driver in history to score a landmark 50th career win.

The triple world champion ended the first half of the season in blistering form.

His win in Germany in July was number 49 and only Michael Schumacher (91) and Alain Prost (51) have reached the half century.

Hamilton, who trailed Rosberg by 43 points after May's Spanish Grand Prix, is determined not to ease off.

Rosberg won the opening four races of the season, but has scored only three podiums since Hamilton hit his stride.

The break, spent with his wife and baby daughter in Ibiza, could be the reset he needs.

It will be crucial that the German does come back strongly, as even finishing second behind Hamilton this weekend will see him drop 26 points behind the Briton.

The 7km Spa circuit is an enduring favourite of drivers, with its flat-out blasts and undulations harking back to the sport's golden age.

For 18-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen, the track is the closest he has to a home venue.

Verstappen, whose victory on his Red Bull debut in Spain in May helped the team move up to second in the standings ahead of Ferrari, was born in Belgium to a Belgian mother and can count on strong local support.

His team mate, Daniel Ricciardo, won in Belgium for Red Bull two years ago after Hamilton and Rosberg collided.

With little risk of a repeat after Mercedes imposed tighter rules of engagement, Verstappen can pin his hopes on the capricious Spa weather to shake things up instead.

French teenager Esteban Ocon will make his Formula One race debut this weekend, replacing Indonesian Rio Haryanto at backmarkers Manor.

Making his debut at Spa, as boyhood idol Schumacher once did, Ocon will join fellow Mercedes-backed youngster Pascal Wehrlein, with both aiming to impress with Manor in their bid for a future Mercedes seat.