Impacts of Renault's disqualification from the Japanese GP

Renault lost nine points after a disqualification from the Japanese Grand Prix as a result of Racing Point's protest post race.

The impact on Renault is grave as it pulls them further away from the fourth placed finish, or best of the rest, in the constructors championship. McLaren now leads them by 43 points with just four races remaining.

It seems more than likely the French team will not match last years result of fourth, a disappointing outcome as they outlined this year as an opportunity to close the gap to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Worse still is the pressure Renault is now under by Torro Rosso and Racing Point who only trail them by four and ten points respectively.

Drivers Ricciardo and Hulkenberg slip to 12th and 13th in the Driver's Championship.

Renault signed Ricciardo to a monster two year deal, reportedly worth $17 million per year, in the hopes of building on their 2018 fourth place finish. With this not happening it will be interesting to see whether the Australian extends his contract past 2020.

Next year is a big year for Renault with Frenchman Esteban Ocon replacing German Nico Hulkenberg, to pair Ricciardo. Improvements must be evident for Cyril Abiteboul, Renault F1 Team principle, for the security of his job.

Away from Renault, both Torro Rosso and Racing Point must be sensing a big end to the season to press on for the fifth place finish. If either team were to finish fifth it would be noted as one of the most impressive results of the season.