F1 2016: Hamilton and Alonso to start from the back for Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will start the Belgian Grand Prix from the back of the grid as both drivers will accept penalties.

Returning after a month long hiatus, the Belgian Grand Prix weekend is underway as the drivers have completed their first and second practice sessions this Friday afternoon.

Earlier on in the season, championship leader, Lewis Hamilton was plagued by reliability issues with his Mercedes for which he had used all of his allocated power unit components for the year. The British driver had made peace with the fact that he had to take grid penalties along the way for his 2016 campaign. Hamilton will start the Belgian GP from the back of the grid as Mercedes have stated that he will receive a seventh turbocharger and MGU-H for the year. Hamilton has a 30-place grid drop penalty which automatically puts him right at the back for the race. However, Mercedes may take the opportunity to make additional engine changes ahead of qualifying.

McLaren-Honda driver, Fernando Alonso will also take a penalty to start along side Hamilton the last row of the grid. Alonso will take a sixth ICE, MGU-H, MGU-K, turbo, control electronics and energy store of the season, meaning he is set to receive a 35-place grid penalty. For his sixth turbo charger this season, Marcus Ericsson will also face a 10-place grid penalty for Sauber.

Rio Haryanto has been replaced by Esteban Ocon at Manor Mercedes for the rest of the season. However, Haryanto has been kept as a reserve driver for the team. Due to the lack of funds, the Indonesian driver was not able to keep his seat and was forced to step down from his race seat.

Pirelli have provided two sets of prototype tyres to all drivers during Friday practice for this weekend. The prototype tyres are the unmarked rubber which had modifications that further protect the tyres from a possible multiple accidental impacts with the kerbs on track. Pirelli monitored the data from the tyres during both FP1 and FP2.

It is half way through the season and some team have already announced their drivers for 2017. But, Williams, Renault, Haas, Sauber and Manor have still not confirmed either seats for next year.

Fernando Alonso will stay at McLaren for 2017, but the decision for whether Jenson Button will remain in the team is not confirmed. Williams have been keeping a close eye on Button should he leave McLaren, but if such is the case, who will race along side Button remains to be seen.

Force India have confirmed Nico Hulkenberg for next year, however the team also want to keep Sergio Perez who has brought the team podium finishes in all of the last three seasons. Torro Rosso had extended the contract for Carlos Sainz, but are still yet to make a decision on Daniil Kvyat, who was demoted from his Red Bull seat to the sister team, swapping with Max Verstappen.

Ferrari, have confirmed along with Red Bull and Mercedes that their driver line-up will remain the same for the 2017 season.