Daniel Ricciardo: Positive early signs from Renault upgrade

MONZA, Italy -- Daniel Ricciardo said the upgraded Renault engine he has taken for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix showed some encouraging early signs.

Ricciardo will start on the back row of the grid this weekend after taking the new engine. Red Bull moved onto the new engine in order to avoid penalties at the next race in Signapore, where it expects to return to competitiveness.

Initially it looked like Ricciardo was in for a difficult Friday when he slowed in the opening moments of FP1 with a loss of power, but Red Bull confirmed the issue remedied itself almost immediately, allowing him to complete the day without further problems.

"It was just a bit of a software issue that the engine…