10-place penalty 'inevitable' for Vettel

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner admits that the chances are high of Sebastian Vettel receiving a ten-place grid penalty for an engine chance later this season. The German lost two Renault powerplants in Valencia at the weekend and now has the same number remaining for the rest of the season before penalties will begin to kick in.

With each driver able to make use of eight engines over the course of a Grand Prix season from 2009 onwards, Vettel's disastrous weekend in Spain engine blows in both final practice on Saturday and in Sunday's race, meaning that only two remain for use before a 10-place grid penalty is incurred for use of a ninth unit.

"Four engine failures with Vettel (in 2009) - it's almost inevitable that we will have an engine penalty somewhere, which is very frustrating," Horner told the press in the aftermath of Sunday's European Grand Prix. "We will just need to manage that and think strategically about the right time to take that penalty."

Valencia marked a miserable weekend for the Milton Keynes team, which scored no World Championship points with either of its two cars for the first time since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

"It was a lot harder than we thought it was going to be," Horner admitted. "In terms of a fuel rig failure, two engine failures and no points for either car, it's far harder than we expected - it's hopefully a blip; we've had a lot of momentum with us and this was always a track that was going to suit the Brawns."

Vettel now sits fourth in the Drivers' standings on 47 points, 25 behind championship leader Jenson Button with six Grands Prix remaining.

Source: GP Update