Ricciardo set for Brazil F1 grid penalty

Daniel Ricciardo is set to receive a five-place grid penalty for the Brazilian Grand Prix later today after Red Bull opted to fit his car with a new turbocharger for this weekend's Formula 1 race at Interlagos.

Following his late retirement in Mexico two weeks ago, Red Bull has been forced into making the change on Ricciardo's power unit for Brazil, fitting a fresh turbocharger ahead of FP1 on Friday morning.

Ricciardo was spotted at the end of the pit lane in FP1 in anticipation of a penalty, ensuring he would start ahead of other penalised drivers, with confirmation of the change following from the FIA soon after the session went green.

As it marks Ricciardo's sixth turbocharger of the year, he will drop five places on the grid for Sunday's race. It marks the first time he has used a sixth power unit element this year, but in a revision of the power unit element rule from last year, the only 10-place penalty would come for the first breach of the seasonal allowance for the individual element.

This means it is a five-place penalty, not 10 places as originally reported.

Ricciardo is the only driver confirmed to have made any changes to his power unit since the last race.