Mercedes have decided over the summer break to take an engine penalty for star driver Lewis Hamilton at the Italian grand Prix at Monza.

The reigning world champion extended his lead to 19 points over teammate Nico Rosberg after the German Grand Prix, but insisted that he doesn’t feel like the leader as an engine penalty was just around the corner.

“It’s still not enough because I’m not a race win ahead yet,” he said. “I hope I’ll be able to get a race win ahead and then I’ll feel like I am ahead.”

The triple world champion will get the chance to pull more points on teammate Nico Rosberg, at this weekends Belgian grand prix at the legendary spa circuit. He will then take a fresh unit for Monza which will see him slide down the Monza grid as a result.

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff explained why Monza was chosen: “Why Monza? Because we want to minimise the impact of the penalty and it’s easier to overtake there,”.

Many expected Lewis to be having his engine penalty in Spa this weekend, so the news of a different strategy paves the way for an exciting grand prix this weekend.

The other question on the lips of many is: “is one unit enough for Lewis?”. Will Mercedes use two units for Monza, to ensure that their star driver can make it to the end of the season without further trouble?

One thing is for sure though, Lewis will have the skinniest wing of all come Monza race day!  With the help of some slipstreaming we could also see the cars maximum speed reach the dizzy heights of Baku.