Valtteri Bottas will take a five-place grid penalty from wherever he qualifies for the U.S. Grand Prix after Mercedes changed his car’s internal combustion engine.
It will be Bottas’ third engine-related grid penalty in four races, after serving similar drops in Italy and Russia.
The change meant Mercedes moved to a component outside the allotted amount in the regulations, which is automatically met with a grid penalty.
F1’s rules dictate that a first breach of the regulations is met with a 10-place drop, while any subsequent breach is a five-place penalty. Bottas took his fourth ICE (the regulations allow three before penalties) in Monza, before getting a new ICE as part of a complete engine change in Sochi.
Mercedes said the change is “for the best balance of performance and reliability to the end of the season”.
The team is locked in a fight with Red Bull in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.
George Russell, the driver replacing Bottas at Mercedes next year, and Sebastian Vettel will drop to the back of the grid after their respective teams made wholescale changes to their engines this weekend.