Daniel Ricciardo has been hit with a three-place grid drop for Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while the McLaren team have been handed a €10,000 fine. It comes following a stewards' investigation into an incident involving Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon during qualifying that saw the Alpine driver impeded. The stewards heard from both drivers and teams before making their decision, with Ricciardo confessing to being unaware that Ocon was approaching on a fast qualifying lap, having received no warning from his engineer. It has therefore been determined that McLaren "failed in its duty to keep Car 3 (Ricciardo) properly informed of approaching cars", landing the aforementioned fine. In addition to his grid drop, Ricciardo has been awarded one penalty point – having previously held zero.
What does it mean for Sunday's race?
The decision has dropped Ricciardo from P12 on the grid to P15, but with only 13 drivers ahead of him. Haas driver Mick Schumacher, who qualified P14, will not take part in Sunday's race after his high-speed crash during qualifying. The grid will be made final, with Schumacher's absence noted, tomorrow.
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