Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from Australian Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from Australian Grand Prix

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo has been excluded from the Australian Grand Prix after breaching fuel consumption rules.
The Australian, 24, crossed the line second, behind race winner Nico Rosberg of Mercedes in Melbourne.
The sport's governing body, the FIA, has installed a fuel-flow sensor in each car to ensure teams do not exceed the maximum fuel-flow rate of 100kg/h.
Stewards said Ricciardo's car exceeded the rate "consistently". Red Bull say they will appeal.
McLaren's Kevin Magnussen has been promoted to second with his team-mate Jenson Button moving up to third.


But Red Bull boss Christian Horner insisted the team had complied with the regulations, adding that the fuel sensors have caused problems since their introduction.
"I'm extremely disappointed, quite surprised and we will of course appeal," said Horner.
"Hopefully through the appeal process, it will be clear the car has conformed at all times with the regulations and we have complied with technical regulations.

"We could see a significant discrepancy with what the sensor was reading and what our fuel flow was stated as - that's where there's a difference of opinion.
"These fuel-flow sensors, which have been fitted by the FIA to measure fuel, have proved problematic.
"Since their introduction, there have been discrepancies and the sensors have been unreliable."
Horner said they had an issue with the sensor "through Friday practice" and were given a replacement that "failed during qualifying".
"We were asked to put the one we used on Friday back on the car and apply an offset," he said.

"We could see a significant discrepancy with what the sensor was reading and what our fuel flow was stated as. We didn't feel it was correct."
Ricciardo's podium would have been the first of his career and came on his debut with Red Bull.
The Australian replaced Mark Webber following promotion from the outfit's junior team Toro Rosso.
The sport has introduced a host of new rules this season, including a limit of no more than 100kg for a race distance and a maximum fuel-flow rate.
Teams were warned before the race that violations would lead to disqualifications.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26601418

Race result in spoiler

Spoiler:

Australian GP: Rosberg wins after Lewis Hamilton and Vettel retire

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...drewbenson.jpgBy Andrew BensonChief F1 writer in Melbourne
Nico Rosberg delivered on Mercedes' promise with adominant victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton retired on lap three.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was second, but was later disqualified for a fuel-flow rate infringement.
The decision promoted Dane Kevin Magnussen, who made a stellar debut for McLaren, to second.
He beat team-mate Jenson Button into third, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fourth from Williams' Valtteri Bottas.


Polesitter Hamilton had a cylinder failing to fire from the very start of the race, and was down to fourth behind Rosberg and Ricciardo by the first corner.
The 2008 world champion dropped to fifth by the end of the first lap and was called into the pits shortly afterwards.
World champion Sebastian Vettel also hit early power-unit trouble in his Red Bull, retiring a lap later than Hamilton with an engine failure.
Eight cars failed to finish as F1 started a new era with high-tech turbo hybrid engines and a limit of no more than 100kg of fuel for a race distance.
Hamilton's retirement left Rosberg unopposed out front and the German drove a controlled race in what is clearly a dominant car to lead until the end.
"It's been an amazing day," said Rosberg. "I'm over the moon really, everyone has worked so hard over the winter and to have such an amazing Silver Arrow. I'm really thankful to Mercedes for giving me such an amazing car.
"There is a lot of work to do. We can still improve a lot and we must because the competitors are not going to be asleep."
Behind him, Ricciardo was able to complete a race distance in a Red Bull for the first time since the car appeared at the end of January.
The team had previously not managed to do more than about 20 laps in a row in pre-season testing.
Speaking before his disqualification, Ricciardo said: "Two or three weeks ago I would have bet pretty much everything I had that we would not be standing up there."
The Australian was in a comfortable second place for most of the race but came under pressure from Magnussen in the final 20 laps.
Magnussen was within a second of the Red Bull with five laps to go but Ricciardo was able to hold on to the end. Ricciardo was eventually disqualified around six hours after the end of the race.
Behind them, Button was unable to close on Magnussen, but beat Alonso by jumping ahead of the Ferrari at their final pit stops.
"It's hard to believe," said Magnussen. "It seems so surreal. The car was so much better than it has been at any point. I just had exactly what I needed the whole race. The preparation we have done this winter has been fantastic."
Williams' Valtteri Bottas was fifth after an incident-packed race in which he hit the wall on the exit of Turn 10 and broke a wheel, triggering a safety car period.
The Finn dropped back to 16th place but used the pace of the Williams to fight back up the field.
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg ran fourth in the early stages after jumping up from seventh on the grid and passing Alonso on the first lap.


But the German slipped back to finish sixth ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
The Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and rookie Daniil Kvyat took eight and ninth places. The Russian replaces Vettel as the youngest points scorer in F1 history.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26599556

Be interesting to hear how the appeal goes as they are claiming faulty FIA equipment. He must be gutted though.

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funny how its always Redbull finding the limits of the rules then blaming everyone else...

This is looking like it might be an interesting season for all the wrong reasons.... I know... let's have no technology later then 1970, just for engine and drive chain.......let the fuckers actually DRIVE the cars.

It's a strange season for sure - I couldn't have it wound up too loud yesterday due to the mrs and little un sleeping but these new cars definitely sound a bit strange!

Not sure why they introduced this cap on fuel - surely for a spectator sport you want to let them go balls to the wall, not say they're all limited to 40mpg. It would be like saying football teams can only take so many shots in 90 minutes, that olympic runners can only eat 2000 calories a day before the race and that they all have to wear the same shoes.

On the flip side I guess it's good that it's forcing them to develop new technologies which we may see trickling down to normal cars - well higher end cars anyway!

I'm going to have to go and find why they brought this rule in now - maybe they're planning now so that F1 can carry on even if something happens and pushes fuel costs up even more?!

I just found this:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/01/1...ghest-f1-rule/

Quote:

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As well as getting to grips with the new engine specification for 2014 teams also have to master demanding restrictions on fuel use.The 2014 F1 rules limit each driver to just 100kg of fuel per race. This is one of the major challenges of the new rules, forcing teams to use up to 60% less fuel per race without sacrificing performance.
How much fuel a car uses in a race is affected by driving style, car set-up, track conditions and circuit configuration. The chart below, based on figures for fuel consumption per lap issued by Williams last year, gives some insight into the latter.
The data is based on the rate of fuel use with the previous V8 engines, which serves to indicate how far the teams have to reduce their fuel use this year:
Approximate V8-era race fuel loads by trackFuel per race (kg)100120140160180MontrealMonte-CarloHungaroringSepangInterlagosMonzaShanghaiCOTASingaporeSilverstoneSpa-FrancorchampsBahrainYas MarinaAlbert ParkSuzukaCircuit de Catalunya




How often and how far the drivers will have to lap within the capabilities of themselves and their cars to ensure they reach the chequered flag is one of the critical questions of the year to come. “We don?�������t like Formula One to be a sport where you are cruising for 50% of the laps,” warned Ferrari?�������s head of engines Luca Marmorini last year.
Limiting the rate of fuel use

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-conten...ue-470x424.jpgFor the first time, the rate of fuel use will also be capped. Teams will not be allowed to exceed a fuel intake of 100kg/hour.
This will be monitored by a fuel flow meter such as the one pictured, which is produced by Gill Sensors and homologated by the FIA for use in Formula One and the World Endurance championship. This uses ultrasonic wave pulses to measure how quickly fuel is flowing – the faster the flow, the more quickly the signal is received.
To give an indication of how severe the fuel flow limit it, the table below gives a guide to the average rate of fuel use at races last year. Based on the data above, this graph compares the typical fuel loads for each race with last year’s winners’ finishing times to show the average rate of fuel use.
Keeping in mind that the fuel rate limit being imposed this year is on peak use, not average consumption, it’s clear to see from the data below how severe a reduction we are talking about. The average rate of fuel use suggested below for some races exceeds the peak limit drivers will be allowed to hit in the coming season.
Approximate rate of fuel useRate of fuel use (kg/hour)406080100120Monte-CarloSingaporeMontrealHungaroringSepangCOTAShanghaiInterlagosYas MarinaBahrainSilverstoneAlbert ParkCircuit de CatalunyaSpa-FrancorchampsSuzukaMonza




NB. The races at Monte-Carlo, Silverstone, Singapore and COTA were all disrupted by Safety Cars and therefore these figures for rates of fuel consumption will be lower than for an uninterrupted race.
Clearly fuel efficiency will be a major goal in the coming season. Generating too much drag will be a greater disadvantage, potentially obliging teams to reduce their wing angles, and drivers who can save fuel early in the race and push harder at the end will be rewarded.
How will this affect the racing? Will drivers now find it advantageous to sit the in the slipstream of their rivals when they can to save fuel? We can certainly expect to hear a lot more team radio chatter about fuel strategy this year.

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So bizarrely it's not so much the average they're bothered about - it's the peak consumption they're not allowed to exceed at any time and that is what Red Bull exceeded even if they still used less than 100KG of fuel. This will probably force new developments in injector patterns, make the burn more efficient if possible and potentially also make the fuel companies look at higher octane fuel than F1 already use so that they can get extra power out of the same amount of fuel?

i reckon it will take half a season to get reliability amongst the front runners but by then i think mercedes could be too far gone for anyone to catch them UNLESS the start squabbling amongst themselves.

i was really looking forward to seeing vettel race from 12th because the amount of overtaking going on woulda been good to see him go wheel to wheel with kimi and fernando and others but glad the season has started, i just hope the next race will have more finishes and more good racing.

I wouldn't rule out McLaren this season. Ron's back in the hot seat and they got both cars home in strong positions.