Ricciardo bracing for Mexico GP grid penalty after engine failure

Daniel Ricciardo says he expects to be starting from the back of the grid at next weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix after suffering engine failure in the opening stages of the United States Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver was enjoying a fierce scrap for third place with Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes during the opening stages, with the pair trading overtakes throughout, until an engine issue saw him lose power and forced to pull over to the side of the track on lap 15.

While Red Bull’s engine analysis has only just begun at the Circuit of the Americas, Ricciardo is already bracing for a grid penalty at the next race for an engine change having seen his team-mate endure the same fate in Austin.

“I think we’ll probably have to take a penalty which means that I will start at the back in Mexico,” Ricciardo said. “I’ll do my best to try and charge through the field and you’ll hopefully see more of today in Mexico.

“It’s obviously never nice to be out of the race early. I think I tried to get the most out of it today and the laps I raced were fun but also frustrating. I felt that, especially earlier on, we were quicker than Valtteri, but I always had to come from so far back that it was never going to be an easy move. I tried a lot of times to make it stick but could never quite manage it.

“I wasn’t going to drive behind him all weekend wondering what could have been, so I don’t have any regrets with the moves I tried. It’s just frustrating to not continue that battle. I did enjoy it out there though. Every time I tried to overtake Valtteri he would just slip back underneath me and I thought: alright let’s try again.”

Ricciardo’s DNF in the US race marks his first race retirement since Hungary when he was taken out by his team-mate Max Verstappen on the first lap.