Daniel Ricciardo will be the first driver to use the upgraded Renault engine at this weekend’ Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
The Australian will fit one of the new power units to his Infiniti Red Bull Racing car ahead of free practice, thus taking a ten-place grid penalty as a result.
Renault had been developing its power unit this season, and used eleven of its twelve development tokens ahead of the race in the United States last month, but both Red Bull and sister team Scuderia Toro Rosso declined the offer to use them.
The team will weigh up the whether to allow Ricciardo’s team-mate Daniil Kvyat to also run the new unit, with a decision on the Russian’s engine likely to be made ahead of Saturday’s running in Brazil.
Both drivers are well-beyond their allotted four power units of 2015, and will accumulate penalties for any new engine fitted to their cars for the remainder of the season.
The upgrades made by Renault are focused on the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and to the turbocharger, with a view to the 2016 season, although the partnership between Renault and the Red Bull family is likely to cease at the end of the season.
