Daniel Ricciardo will start the Mexican Grand Prix from the back of the grid after Red Bull chose to change his engine.
Ricciardo, who qualified a disappointing seventh at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, will join the McLarens and Toro Rossos at the foot of the field.
The team have opted to install a new V6, replacing the worn unit which failed during the US GP, and two other elements, incurring a 20-place penalty.
The Aussie, notoriously strong in wheel-to-wheel combat, has vowed to mount a fightback in Sunday’s race.
“I think I’m going to start 16th or 17th,” he told Autosport after qualifying. “I’m going to charge. I’m going to use every rpm that I’ve got!”
Sister team Toro Rosso have been plagued by unreliability this weekend, with the Renault power units struggling to cope at high altitude.
“With the problems Toro Rosso has had this weekend, there’s some doubts with what we’ve got at the moment,” Ricciardo said.
“This weekend, this engine is towards the end of its life and this track with the altitude and that, it works them a lot harder.
“We knew there would be a bit of a risk here, but for sure there’s been quite a few failures this weekend so far.”
