It is not a 'definite' that Lewis Hamilton will have to change the power unit in his car later this season and serve a grid penalty, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has said.
The Brit trails Red Bull's Max Verstappen by just five points following the Italian Grand Prix, where both drivers didn't finish after a horrific crash with one another ruled them out of the race.
Verstappen has been issued with a three-place grid penalty for the crash, which he will serve in the Russian Grand Prix, and is in line for further penalties this season.
Red Bull are on their third of three allocated power units for the season, forced to change after the collision with Hamilton at Silverstone, and will receive a penalty when they inevitably move to a fourth power unit.
The Milton Keynes-based team are being tactical with that decision though, as they're waiting to make the shift at a venue where there is opportunity for overtakes in order to rise back through the positions.
Hamilton is also on his third power unit this season and could still make a change, which would come with a subsequent grid penalty due to Formula 1 regulations, but Wolff says this isn't a definite.
"No, it's not an absolute must because we're still running very comfortably with this power unit. It's a decision that can be made at any time but, at the moment, we don't feel it's necessary.
"Does that mean we're not going to take a fourth? No, it doesn't. We will see how the next races pan out."
Mercedes opted to use a new power unit for Valtteri Bottas at Monza, who started from the back of the grid despite securing pole position via the sprint race.
Bottas excelled in the race to finish on the podium with a third-placed finish following the crash between Verstappen and Hamilton, behind only McClaren duo Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez is also on his fourth power unit of the season having changed for the Dutch Grand Prix, where he finished eighth.