Breaking news
Formula 1 Italian GP
Ricciardo set for Monza penalties with new Renault spec
Daniel Ricciardo will have to take grid penalties at Monza next weekend when he becomes the first driver to take advantage of Renault’s new Spec C power unit.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Aug 31, 2018, 11:16 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Australian has known for some weeks that penalties were inevitable, and Red Bull has chosen to take the hit at Monza to coincide with the availability of the upgrade.
If the Spec C works well in Ricciardo’s car, Max Verstappen may also be given new power unit elements later in the weekend.
It’s not yet clear which elements the Dutchman would take, but he can use a V6 and MGU-H without penalty. Any other changes would sent Verstappen down the grid.
The Renault works team has opted not to use the latest upgrade, and both Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz took new examples of the current Spec B at Spa last weekend.
Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul has acknowledged that there are reliability risks associated with the Spec C, and admits that the Enstone team can’t afford to take them as it tries to hang on to fourth place in the world championship.
However, Red Bull has less to lose and is willing to take a punt as it searches for more performance.
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images
“Daniel will be incurring penalties at the next race, because he’s due an engine change,” Christian Horner told Motorsport.com.
“There’s a significant amount of cost that’s gone into integrating the engine into the car, because [of] cooling etc., so if there is any performance, which it looks like there is with our fuel partner, we’re happy to take that risk.
“We’ll run the engine on Friday, and then make a decision on Friday evening as to whether we retain it.
"If it looks good in Daniel’s car, Max will have it on Saturday. He’s due an engine in Monza as well, so we’ll make the decision on Friday evening what engines the drivers go into the race with.”
Horner admits that Monza will be tough even with the new engine, but he hopes that the Spec C will have an impact at later races.
“If there’s a little bit of performance, we’re not so worried about Monza, but some of the races coming up, like Singapore, Mexico, they’re races that represent opportunities for us to give Mercedes and Ferrari a harder time.
"If we can gain anything, of course we’re chasing every tenth of a second we can.”
McLaren has no plans to use the Spec C because significant changes would be required to install it in the chassis.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mercedes: Engine power not our only shortfall
Next article Whiting elaborates on Hulkenberg/Grosjean crash comparison
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Daniel Ricciardo
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
Formula 1 2 d
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Why Daniel Ricciardo is staying away from the F1 paddock
Formula 1
Formula 1 11 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo is staying away from the F1 paddock
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC 17 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
More from
Red Bull Racing
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 h
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Latest news
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
Retaining Liam Lawson isn't enough – Red Bull must stop treating him like a failure
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
4 h
Yamaha may not be competitive immediately in MotoGP's 850cc era, says Pramac
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
MotoGP
Qatar GP
You Ask The Questions: Jack Miller
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe