Hamilton’s world title hopes appeared to be fading ahead of the Brazil Grand Prix this month, when Mercedes opted to alter the internal combustion unit (ICU) on his car – representing a fifth engine change of the season.

Under current F1 rules, drivers are allowed to use three different engines over the course of the season without incurring a penalty, but anything beyond that triggers punishment.

At the Turkish Grand Prix in October, the seven-time world champion accepted a 10-place penalty after a fourth engine change, and at the time said he was confident no further changes would be needed in the remainder of 2021.

Fernando Alonso has poured scorn on Lewis Hamilton’s recent resurgence by claiming his former teammate should be starting from the back of the grid.

Hamilton’s world title hopes appeared to be fading ahead of the Brazil Grand Prix this month, when Mercedes opted to alter the internal combustion unit (ICU) on his car – representing a fifth engine change of the season.

Under current F1 rules, drivers are allowed to use three different engines over the course of the season without incurring a penalty, but anything beyond that triggers punishment.

At the Turkish Grand Prix in October, the seven-time world champion accepted a 10-place penalty after a fourth engine change, and at the time said he was confident no further changes would be needed in the remainder of 2021.

He kept the ascendancy in Qatar with a dominant display from first on the grid, cutting Verstappen’s overall championship lead to just eight points ahead of the final two races in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

The Red Bull man has since argued that Hamilton’s grid penalty in Brazil was insufficient, given the consummate ease with which he powered through the field.

“Those who have exceeded a certain number of engines per year should be sent to the back of the grid,” the Alpine driver told Spanish outlet AS.