Red Bull’s Perez to take grid penalty at U.S. Grand Prix

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will take a grid penalty in Sunday’s U.S. Formula One Grand Prix after starting Friday’s free practice with a new engine.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez before practice. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will take a grid penalty in Sunday’s U.S. Formula One Grand Prix after starting Friday’s free practice with a new engine.

The Mexican is second overall, and only a point clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with four races remaining, in a championship already won by Dutch team mate Max Verstappen for the second year in a row.

Red Bull is hoping to clinch the constructors’ world championship for the first time since 2013 at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.

For that not to happen in Texas, Ferrari need to score 19 points more than Red Bull.

The FIA said Perez had taken his fifth internal combustion engine of the season, which means a drop of five places from wherever he qualifies on Saturday but will also give him a fresher option for his home race in Mexico the weekend after.

Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou will also face a similar drop for the same reason.