Lewis Hamilton rules out upgrading to another new engine

Lewis Hamilton has ruled out upgrading to a new engine during the final eight races of the season, believing he already possesses the required power to win the world championship.

Hamilton suffered a series of engine-related engine penalties at Spa which demoted the Mercedes driver to the back of the grid for the Belgian GP after his car was fitted with three new power units.

It has, however, been speculated Hamilton might take another penalty if, as predicted, the team introduce a new engine later in the season.

But after arriving at Monza for this weekend's Italian GP, Hamilton said: "If there's an upgrade, I'm not bothered. I can win with the ones l have.

"I'm really happy with the power unit that I have now. It's fast enough to fight for the rest of the year."

Any potential performance gain from an upgraded engine would have to be worth the aggravation of at least a 10-place grid penalty - which Hamilton believes is an unlikely proposition.

"Upgrades are often small steps so l am not concerned about it," he explained.

Provided there are no further engine-related complications, the stage is set for a straight fight between Rosberg and Hamilton for the world championship as the Englishman, currently boasting a nine-point lead, seeks to clinch a third successive world title.

"The penalties are done and the free weekend for the opponent is in the past," said Hamilton. "From now, I will get to fight."

After starting out from the back row in Belgium, Hamilton rose through the field to claim third place and surprise Rosberg by limiting the damage to a 10-point swing.

"To be able to take three new engines and a 55-place penalty and come away only losing that amount of points is a super successful weekend for us. Now I'm able to go and start fighting for the wins, which I'm really happy about, the team's really happy about, and I'm sure my fans are," Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ.