Lewis Hamilton will slide down the grid at Monza, Mercedes have revealed.

The reigning world champion extended his lead in the 2016 standings recently, but insisted that he still does not feel like the true leader because he is running short on engines.

"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."

He will get the chance to do just that at Spa this weekend, before taking a fresh Mercedes engine and a subsequent grid penalty at Monza a week later, according to Russia's Sportbox.

"Why Monza? Because we want to minimise the impact of the penalty and it's easier to overtake there," said team boss Toto Wolff.

Hamilton currently leads second-placed teammate Nico Rosberg by 19 points in the driver rankings.