Red Bull have appealed Daniel Ricciardo’s second place Australian Grand Prix disqualification and the appeal will be heard by the FIA at a hearing in Paris today.
According to team boss, Christian Horner, Red Bull are confident that they have a “very strong case.”
Ricciardo, who raced his way to second place at the seasoning opening home grand prix for the Aussie but was stripped of the position, and the 18 accompanying points, after his RB10 was found to have “consistently exceed” the maximum allowed fuel flow rate of 100 kgs per hour.
Red Bull have argued that there was a problem with the sensors provided by the FIA which is why they chose to rely on their own. In essence, the team chose to ignore a technical directive from the FIA which explains what to do in the event of a fuel flow sensor ‘drifting’ or failing completely.
According to the team, Ricciardo’s sensor did drift, and they therefore chose to use a back-up system which had not been pre-approved by the FIA. The disqualification was as a direct result of Red Bull ignoring the FIA’s advice before and during the race. The governing body insists that Red Bull were warned several times during the race.
Horner claims that the team had every right to ignore the FIA’s advice – because it was exactly that, advice, and not legally binding rules as per the technical regulations.
Should the team win their appeal, they will move up to second place in the Constructors’ Championship, and Ricciardo would move up to third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
“Those points are vital, every point is vital,” Horner said. “We believe we’ve a very strong case. As more races have progressed issues have become more evident, new evidence has come to light, new understandings have come to light. Hopefully we can present our case fairly and get the second place Daniel deserves from Melbourne.”
Ricciardo has confirmed that he will not attend the hearing in Paris today.
