The Australian, who trailed teammate Max Verstappen by almost a second in qualifying, will thus give up his seventh place on the grid and drop towards the rear of the field.

At the back, he will join the already-penalised Fernando Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley, as well as Pierre Gasly, who didn’t take part in qualifying.

Ricciardo is getting a new ICE, which will be his sixth of the season, and two other elements. It’s believed that he will get a 20-place penalty.

“I think I’m going to start 16th or 17th,” Ricciardo told Motorsport.com. “I’m going to charge. I’m going to use every rpm that I’ve got!”

His engine was already high mileage, and he retired from the US GP when it switched off, although Renault reckoned the unit had escaped damage.

However, the high temperatures and the unique high-altitude location of the Mexico City race has nudged the team towards a change - which was also motivated by the Renault engine failures suffered by the sister Toro Rosso team.

By serving the penalty in Mexico, Ricciardo should thus have fresh equipment for the two remaining rounds of the 2017 campaign.