In a statement, the FIA said: “The FIA technical representative observed
through the telemetry during the race that the fuel was too high and
contacted the team, giving them the opportunity to follow his previous
instruction… The team chose not to make this correction.”
After the decision, Red Bull immediately released a statement in which they
said they would be appealing the ruling.
“Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend
up and down the pit lane,” the team said. “The team and Renault are
confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the
regulations.”
All the post-race drama and deliberations came after Nico Rosberg underlined Mercedes‘s
status as favourites for the 2014 championship, cruising to a dominant
victory.
It was not a perfect day for the team, however, as Lewis Hamilton had to
retire after just four laps with engine trouble, quickly followed by
reigning champion Sebastian Vettel.
Ron Dennis, returning to control at McLaren, said it was his decision to hire
Magnussen, and what a decision it has turned out to be. The team lead the
constructors’ championship after the first event.
But despite the brilliant drives by Ricciardo and Magnussen, there can be
little denying how impressive a performance this was by Mercedes and Rosberg.
“What a car you have given me,” Rosberg said. “Unbelievable.” If Mercedes
continue at this pace, they will be hard to stop.
Ricciardo sounded almost giddy as he took the first podium of his career. “I
think we can see your smile from here,” his team said on the radio.
It was an incredible turnaround for Red Bull, who looked nowhere at the end of
pre-season testing, but their day was ultimately ruined by the FIA’s ruling.
As he was leaving the track, before the decision had been taken, Ricciardo
said: “I’d be gutted if I am thrown out.
“We were on a high when he heard the news about the stewards. We will have to
look at what happened and move on. I can still be pleased with how I drove
and the result I got.”
Aside from these exceptional performances, the race showed just how good
Formula One teams are.
The rate of attrition was far lower than expected under these new regulations,
with only four retirements due to unreliability, and six in total. It was a
triumph for the sport’s new rules.
But the start of the race certainly lived up to the billing.
Britain’s Max Chilton had to start from the pitlane, only to be followed by
his Marussia team-mate. After a second formation lap, Formula One in 2014
was underway.
Hamilton, without full use of his six cylinders, lost places to Ricciardo and
Rosberg, who scythed his way into the lead.
Reigning champion Vettel, starting in 12th, was also helpless to defend. After
lapping around 15 seconds off the pace, he finally gave in to the inevitable
on lap five.
Hamilton managed even less, only making it to lap two, and after some slightly
confused radio messages the favourite for the championship pulled into the
garage.
As he watched his team-mate pull away, the 29 year-old said: “As soon as I
left the lane I had a lot less power than I usually have. I think of all the
work that has gone in from the guys in the factory and all the days and
nights stressing.
“We looked so strong but to then have a hiccup is tough for everyone, but we
will bounce back.”
The first 15 laps were full of frenetic racing behind Rosberg, who eased away
from Ricciardo in second and rookie Magnussen in third.
The returning Kamui Kobayashi showed his year’s absence by wiping Felipe Massa
out at the first corner, prompting the Brazilian to call for strong
punishment by the FIA.
His team-mate Valtteri Bottas then brought out the safety car after clipping
the wall, suffering a puncture in the process. The Finn managed to continue
to sixth, salvaging his best points finish on what was a disappointing day
for Williams given their pre-season promise.
After the restart – which Rosberg executed in an almost Vettel-esque fashion –
it went all a bit 2013-style for the middle of the race, with teams anxious
to conserve fuel and protect these fragile new cars.
Fernando Alonso found himself stuck behind his 2013 nemesis Nico Hulkenberg in
fifth, while Kimi Raikkonen struggled behind.
Lotus, around five seconds off the pace, made it further than many expected,
but then the inevitable happened. Pastor Maldonado retired on lap 31,
followed by Romain Grosjean 14 laps later.
Despite all the warnings of doom and gloom, and reliability problems galore,
the rate of attrition was not much higher than normal. All the fears of
drivers tiptoeing their way around seemed unfounded: Ricciardo’s engineer
told him to “hit the beeps”.
But it was not long before he was being hassled by 21 year-old Magnussen
behind, who was on his tail with seven laps to go. The Dane has had to deal
with the pressure of being the first McLaren rookie since Hamilton, but he
drove superbly.
Meanwhile, in a different race almost, Rosberg was showing everything that has
made Mercedes the favourites, finishing nearly 25 seconds clear.
But the race will ultimately be remembered for Ricciardo’s performance, and
his subsequent exclusion.
Final classification: 1 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1hr 32mins
58.710secs, 2 Kevin Magnussen (Den) McLaren 1:33:25.487, 3 Jenson Button
(Gbr) McLaren 1:33:28.737, 4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:33:33.994, 5
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:33:46.349, 6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force
India 1:33:49.428, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:33:56.385, 8 Jean-Eric
Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33:59.151, 9 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia
Toro Rosso 1:34:02.295, 10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:34:24.626, 11
Adrian Sutil (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari at 1 Lap, 12 Esteban Gutierrez (Mex)
Sauber-Ferrari at 1 Lap, 13 Max Chilton (Gbr) Marussia at 2 Laps
Not Classified: 14 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull (disqualified) 15
Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 51 Laps completed, 16 Romain Grosjean (Fra)
Lotus F1 Team 44 Laps completed, 17 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Lotus F1 Team 30
Laps completed, 18 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Caterham 28 Laps completed, 19
Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 4 Laps completed, 20 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)
Mercedes GP 3 Laps completed, 21 Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 0 Laps
completed, 22 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Caterham 0 Laps completed
World Championship Standings after Australian Grand Prix:
Drivers: 1 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 25pts, 2 Kevin Magnussen
(Den) McLaren 18, 3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 15, 4 Fernando Alonso (Spa)
Ferrari 12, 5 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 10, 6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)
Force India 8, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 6, 8 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)
Scuderia Toro Rosso 4, 9 Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2, 10
Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:34:24.626 1
Constructors: McLaren 33, Mercedes 25, Ferrari 18, Williams 10, Force
India 9, Toro Rosso 6