Alonso and Ricciardo set to take the pain with penalties in Austria

As we reach the half way point in the F1 season, the focus in Austria falls increasingly on engine penalties with Honda and Renault likely to have drivers who drop down the grid due to taking new engine penalties. Chief among them are the Red Bull and McLaren drivers.

Fernando Alonso has an upgraded chassis package with the short nose, to help the underfloor aerodynamics. As Alonso is driving the first day of the test which follows the Grand Prix, he will have an extended period of four days to test and evaluate the package.

Alonso said: "It will be another weekend where it will be tough, the results will not look good, as there are some penalties to take. It's a 'test' weekend for us, we have some updates on the car, also with the test coming up afterwards.

Alonso reflected on the disappointing start to the season for McLaren and Honda. "Things have been improving, but its the final result that may not been good enough to make us happy. We will have to start at the back and pay some penalties. In performance terms we expect a lot from the car in the next couple of months. We will see how it ends up, that will give us hopes for next year."

After a hugely disappointing return to Montreal, the scene of his maiden F1 victory, Daniel Ricciardo has a new chassis this weekend from Red Bull, a solution they have used in the past with Sebastian Vettel when he had some difficulties, "We have got rid of any variables that may have been there in Canada," said Ricciardo.

The Australian also confirmed that "it's likely we will take a penalty here; we have to evaluate whether its better to take it here or Silverstone, but it wouldn't surprise me if we took it (a grid penalty) here.

"I have to reassess what's possible. We need to lower the bar and not look at the big picture of getting in the top five or the podium but just try to maximise everything and move forward.

"There are more updates coming, some work better than others, but we are still trying, still pushing."

Ricciardo explained that his outburst in Canada, where he implied that some in the team were resting on past glories and also that he might be open to a move elsewhere was motivated by feeling "emotional" over failing so badly on a track where he'd won in 2014.

"Obviously I'm set now with Red Bull," he said. "I would love to get back to the top step with them.