F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Ricciardo and Hartley drop down the grid with late penalties!

Red Bull gets a double whammy of grid drops with Daniel Ricciardo in the senior outfit and Brendon Hartley in the junior squad both taking on new engine components.

After pondering a tactical change, the Aussie and his team elected to take on a new ICE and two other elements which will equate to 20-place penalty.

Undeterred, Ricciardo said he would give it his all at the outset this afternoon.

"I think I’m going to start 16th or 17th," Ricciardo told Motorsport.com.

"I’m going to charge. I’m going to use every rpm that I’ve got!

The benefit of installing a fresh unit in Mexico should keep Ricciardo penalty-free for the two remaining races of the season, in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley also takes on new power unit elements for Sunday's race, although which and the size of his grid drop are still unknown at this stage.

"It’s definitely the V6," said team boss Franz Tost. "I’ll give you details when the engineers have decided what they want to do."

Hartley made it through to Q2 in qualifying but ground to a halt with a sudden engine issue which put a premature end to his session.

The failure occurred just minutes after team mate Pierre Gasly suffered an engine problem which also sidelined the Toro Rosso junior, and has sent him to the back of today's grid.

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Michael Delaney

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