Sebastian Vettel, the winner of last year's U.S. Grand Prix, will start this year's race from the pit lane after Infiniti Red Bull officials confirmed his car is running a new engine — his sixth for the season.

According to , Vettel will face a hefty penalty for exceeding the maximum allotted number of engines for the season. Red Bull notified the FIA of the change on Monday. In earlier reports, the team kind of knew this one was coming after confirming the fifth engine was near the end of its life at the Russian Grand Prix.

In spite of this, he will take part in Saturday's qualifying, albeit maybe only for a couple laps, Red Bull principal Christian Horner .

The four-time world champion has had a rough season in 2014, a dramatic change from the years-long run where he seemed all but unbeatable. He is currently fifth overall in points; his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo is third.