07/06/2018
NEWS STORY
Despite conflicting media reports, Daniel Ricciardo believes he will not incur a grid penalty this weekend.
In the aftermath of the Monaco Grand Prix, which he won despite an MGU-K failure just 18 laps into the 78 lap race, and which left him 25% down on power, it was claimed that the unit was repairable and that Ricciardo would not incur a grid penalty in Canada.
However, that claim was dismissed by Adrian Newey this week who told Reuters, when asked if the MGU-K was salvageable: "I rather doubt it, considering it caught fire and was a burnt out, charred wreck. I would be somewhat surprised at that one."
Speaking to reporters in Montreal today, Ricciardo said he was confident he would not be receiving a grid penalty after the team opted to resurrect an old unit.
Asked if was expecting a penalty, the Australian replied: "Currently no
"However, obviously if something happens in practice then we will probably have to take one," he added, "but no is the answer today. For now, we still have enough parts to run, and if it runs reliable we will do the whole weekend with it."
Ricciardo has reverted to the MGU-K which failed in practice in China. Hopefully, it will prove reliable enough this weekend, otherwise there will be a 10-place grid demotion.
However, the Australian admits that sooner or later he's going to take a hit, though he prefers that it comes later.
"I guess, it could come as soon as Paul Ricard," he said. "When I heard whispers of taking a penalty here, at that point I was like I will take it in Paul Ricard but not here. This is such a difficult circuit for overtaking. And having such good momentum at the moment I think a penalty would take a bit of wind out of our sails. If we can escape this weekend without it, then I'd rather take it somewhere else."
Meanwhile, chief engineer Paul Monaghan has confirmed Newey's diagnosis and says the Monaco MGU-K is unlikely to be salvaged.
"I wouldn't describe it as serviceable," he said, according to ESPN, "it's not happy! The one from the failure in China is alive, hence we haven't got a penalty. So as we start the weekend, touch wood, we're alright. We'll see how we go."