Vandoorne gets Italian GP grid penalty

The Belgian had looked set for his equal best start position of the year, having been eighth on the provisional grid, but problems with his McLaren's power unit had struck in Q3.

Investigations after qualifying identified a problem with the MGU-K shaft, which was costing Vandoorne performance.

Although it was theoretically possible for the team to replace the MGU-K shaft without incurring a penalty, Honda felt that there was not enough time to do so before the start of the race.

Instead, Honda has elected to fit a new 3.7 spec internal combustion engine, MGU-K, MGU-H and turbocharger - which will hand the Belgian a 25-place grid penalty.

The drop is set to leave Vandoorne starting 18th on the grid, ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, who has had a 35-place grid penalty, and Romain Grosjean who has been allowed to start the race despite his crash in qualifying leaving him outside of the 107% cut-off.

Vandoorne is the seventh driver to suffer engine related grid penalties this weekend.

Revised Italian GP grid