Ricciardo reveals former world champs don't believe upgrade is worth a penalty
Tuesday 27 October 2015 17:24, UK
Daniel Ricciardo has indicated that Red Bull won't run Renault's new engines at the US GP this weekend.
Both of Renault's customer teams, Red Bull and junior outfit Toro Rosso, would be automatically hit with grid penalties if they use the upgraded units - the first new specification Renault have delivered since the start of the season - as both teams have already used their full allowance for the year.
But the snub will inevitably be viewed as a political message given that reconciliation with Renault is believed to be Red Bull's only realistic prospect of remaining in F1 next season after Mercedes and Ferrari rejected their request for an engine supply in 2016.
"They are available if we want to use it but that would trigger a penalty and we need to understand if it is worth it," said Ricciardo. "I've heard that the [performance gain] is not massive so my understanding is that it is probably not worth taking.
"I don't think we will gain enough in this short time to make it up so if we start from the back we are unlikely to make up the ground we need to. So right now, we are less likely."
Renault are understood to have spent 11 of their 12 remaining development tokens on the upgrade and it would be hugely embarrassing for the French manufacturers - who are yet to complete their long-awaited buyout of the beleaguered Lotus outfit - if their new engines go unused in Austin.
Neither Red Bull nor Toro Rosso are yet to formally comment on their intentions.
In their own pre-race press release, Renault's chief Remi Taffin acknowledged: "We know that introducing the new PU will incur a grid penalty [for exceeding the season's allocation] so the decision to use will be made in full consultation with the teams."
