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Confirmed: Verstappen & Ricciardo to both get grid penalties in Russia

Confirmed: Verstappen & Ricciardo to both get grid penalties in Russia

25-09-2018 13:48
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Nicolás Quarles van Ufford

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has confirmed that the team will be downgrading their engines from the Spec C back to the Spec B, meaning that both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will have grid penalties.

Verstappen will be celebrating his 21st birthday on race day in Russia, but he'll have to do so from the back of the grid. On the back of his Driver of the Day-performance in Singapore, where he fended off Sebastian Vettel for second place, he'll be frustrated to not have the opportunity to carry on the momentum and score another podium, but that's life as a Renault customer.

Ricciardo has been the victim of many mechanical issues this season, with his car simply not working with him most of the times. Maybe that's a big reason he decided to leave to the Renault works team next season.

Explaining why Red Bull will be downgrading their engine spec again, Horner argued that Russia was going to be a tough weekend for Red Bull either way.

“We’ve got the previous specification going in for the next race, so Sochi is going to be a tough weekend for us,” Horner was quoted by GPfans.

“We accepted the risks when we took this [Spec C] engine. It has delivered a bit more power and it has been a bit rough around the edges.

“I think the [Red Bull mechanics] actually did a good job to tidy it up as best they could on the mapping within their parameters. With more time and more optimisation, it would only be better.

“I think realistically this year, Mexico is probably the only shot we’ve got left [of a win] under normal circumstances,” he added.