Ricciardo Set to Receive Grid Penalties in Canada

Red Bull’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey is pretty sure that Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo will receive grid penalties in Montreal, Canada. Newey said, “He will definitely taking some penalties in Montreal. We haven’t heard just how many.”

Ricciardo has already used up two MGU-K units, which is the maximum allowed per season. If he takes up the third, he will automatically be docked 10 grid places. And Newey says there is no chance that the previous MGU-K can be used in his car. “The K is definitely a penalty.”

“I rather doubt it (using the second MGU-K), considering it caught fire and was burnt out, charred wreck. I would be somewhat surprised at that one”, he told Reuters.

Red Bull will be upbeat in the next race because their engine suppliers, Renault are bringing in an upgrade for the next race. But Newey is not too positive about it. “It’s about 1% (more power), which is a tenth of a second. So it’s worth having, but it’s not a make or break”, he said.

But the MGU-K is not the only component which has caused a problem for Ricciardo and Red Bull. The Renault engine’s unreliability has meant that Ricciardo’s car has already the maximum permitted number of energy stores and control electronics. If a change is needed in either, it would mean an additional five-place penalty for each.

But Newey was unaware of the situation involving those. “One of the things there is whether the battery was damaged or not in Monaco, so until we know that from Renault, we don’t know exactly what we’re facing.”

Despite facing such diverse problems, Ricciardo has managed to take two wins, the same number as Hamilton and Vettel and has propelled himself to third in the drivers’ standings. But the thing which will affect his title hopes is the races in which he does not win.

In the four races he has not won, Ricciardo has suffered two retirements which have resulted in no points. So it has been a case of either a victory or the other extreme for him. Red Bull will have to ensure that he stays consistent on tracks not suited to them, if Ricciardo wants to harbour any chances of winning the title.