The starting grid for the Las Vegas Grand Prix has changed hours before the race after Red Bull chose to change the setup and engine on Yuki Tsunoda‘s car. It comes after a disappointing qualifying result for the Japanese racer who was eliminated in Q1, with only Lewis Hamilton below him on the timesheets.

A wet session provided plenty of jeopardy and Tsunoda was one of a few drivers who struggled to find any grip on a treacherously slippery surface. Having qualified way down in 19th, while team-mate Max Verstappen was able to steer the other Red Bull to second place, the team has decided to fit his car with new engine parts.

Tsunoda’s Red Bull also has a new exhaust system, while the FIA technical delegate also reports that the rear wing assembly on the car has been modified. The result is multiple penalties for the Japanese racer which will require him to start the race from the pit lane.

It means one less car for Hamilton to overtake after one of the worst qualifying displays of his entire career. Before Friday night in Las Vegas, the seven-time champion had never qualified last on pure pace, though he did seem to be hampered by a bollard which appeared to, for a time, get stuck underneath his Ferrari in the latter stages of Q1.

Speaking after qualifying, Tsunoda was absolved of any blame for the poor result by Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, who said: “We made quite big mistakes with his tyre pressures. These things obviously should not happen. Apologies to Yuki, he was in a good rhythm all weekend and it’s really painful to take this chance away from him.”

Tsunoda himself said: “We didn’t expect to use the extreme tyres. I’m just three seconds off compared to any other drivers. Clearly, I was missing something, because I was literally driving on ice, so I don’t know what has happened.”

With only two rounds remaining in the season after this weekend’s action has concluded, Tsunoda is running out of time to save his F1 career. He will almost certainly be replaced at the main Red Bull team by Isack Hadjar and, with British teenager Arvid Lindblad likely to get a call-up from Formula 2, seems to be in a head-to-head duel with Liam Lawson for the remaining Racing Bulls seat.

To make matters worse, Lawson continued his impressive recent run and qualified sixth, two places ahead of team-mate Hadjar. The Frenchman’s impressive rookie season has convinced Red Bull to promote him to become the latest team-mate to Verstappen next year, though it has not gone unnoticed that Lawson’s strong form in the second half of this season has brought him to just seven points behind Hadjar in the drivers’ standings.