Red Bull lose Ricciardo Australian GP appeal

15 April 2014 10:46

Red Bull on Tuesday lost their appeal over Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification from second place in last month's Australian Grand Prix.

The world champions had sought to overturn the stripping of Ricciardo's runner-up finish behind Nico Rosberg in Melbourne for breaching fuel flow regulations.

FIA's International Court of Appeal issued a ruling after a six-hour hearing Monday during which Mercedes had called for the punishment to be harsher.

Red Bull said they "accepted the decision" but were "disappointed" with the outcome which left their rookie Australian driver 10th in the championship with 12 points, 49 behind Mercedes' pacesetter Rosberg ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

Red Bull are fourth in the constructors' standings on 35 points with Mercedes leading on 111.

The ruling is a blow to Red Bull's hopes of retaining their world titles as a reinstatement would have been worth 18 points which would have lifted Ricciardo into third in the driver's race and his team into second in the constructors' standings.

Red Bull issued a statement declaring: "We are of course disappointed by the outcome and would not have appealed if we didn't think we had a very strong case.

"We always believed we adhered to the technical regulations throughout the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

"We are sorry for Daniel that he will not be awarded the 18 points from the event, which we think he deserved.

"We will continue to work very hard to amass as many points as possible for the team, Daniel and Sebastian (Vettel) throughout the season.

"We will now move on from this and concentrate on this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix."

Before the hearing Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had described Ricciardo's 'lost' points as "vital, every point is vital".

Red Bull were found guilty of using more than the 100kg fuel limit per hour in Melbourne and also of ignoring repeated FIA advice during the race to limit their fuel consumption.

Red Bull had argued that the fuel flow sensor at the centre of what has been dubbed 'Fuelgate' was "unreliable, inconsistent and immature technology".

Ricciardo, 24, has had a roller-coaster start to his debut season. In Malaysia he drove off with a loose wheel after a pit stop, and in Bahrain he succeeded in taking fourth despite starting from 13th, outshining his teammate Vettel.

FIA said it would make public its reasons for Tuesday's verdict in full later this week.

Source: AFP