Ricciardo, Verstappen hit with more Russian GP penalties

Ricciardo, Verstappen hit with more Russian GP penalties

Joas van Wingerden

Friday 28 September 2018 19:00

Red Bull have tacked further Russian Grand Prix grid penalties onto Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo by opting to fit fresh gearboxes for Sunday's race. Verstappen and Ricciardo were due to start towards the back of the grid regardless due to a change of power unit.

Having run Renault's 'C-spec' engine in Italy and Singapore, Red Bull have switched back to its predecessor, which is less powerful but is expected to have better reliability.

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That move has been done with upcoming races in Japan and Mexico in mind, where Verstappen and Ricciardo might have a chance of mixing it with Ferrari and Mercedes – as they were unlikely to do in Sochi this week.

We had a good Friday, better than expected! ???? Tomorrow we will continue to try to improve our race pace #KeepPushing #RussianGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/F5hXxi8ky0 — Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) September 28, 2018

Toro Rosso have confirmed Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly will also take new power units, and subsequent grid drops, in Sochi, while Fernando Alonso is also dropping down for similar reasons.

But the second round of sanctions for Red Bull mean Verstappen and Ricciardo are likely to start Sunday's race 19th and 20th.

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