Official: Ricciardo disqualified, Red Bull appeals
After an investigation and after hearing from the Red Bull team members, the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix decided to disqualify Daniel Ricciardo. He therefore loses his second position.
We were already discussing it with you at the end of the morning: doubts were weighing on Daniel Ricciardo’s final result in the Australian Grand Prix. These doubts have turned into certainties as it has just been announced that the stewards have decided to exclude the Australian from the race for non-compliance with article 5.1.4 of the Formula 1 technical regulations.
This article relates to the issue of the maximum permitted fuel flow rate, which is 100 kg/h. However, Jo Bauer, the FIA delegate, alerted the stewards that the Red Bull No. 3 had regularly exceeded this limit during this morning’s race.
The decision was long in coming because the discussions focused on the issue of the instrument used to measure this flow, which Red Bull had changed over the weekend, citing a malfunction. The explanation did not convince the stewards.
Red Bull has already indicated that it will appeal this decision.
More information to follow…