“If they had followed the advice we gave them at the time, we would not have
had a problem and they would not have been penalised”, Whiting said on
Sunday night. “It is a human thing because they have the ability to do what
was needed to comply.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, said the FIA’s fuel sensors are
“unreliable” and that led them to ignore the stewards’ warnings.
“They informed us and we informed them that we had serious concerns over their
sensor,” Horner said. “We believed in our reading, otherwise you are in a
situation where you are reducing significant amounts of power with the
engine, when we believed we fully comply with the regulations.”
On a day when all eyes were cautiously fixed on Formula One’s new era on
track, it was events after the chequered flag fell which left a feeling of
farce.
Ricciardo, who delighted the home crowd with his display at Albert Park, in
his first race for Red Bull, had to wait 5hr 22min before the Australian was
officially excluded from the result. By that time, the locals had been
wildly celebrating his maiden podium long into the night, unaware of the
wait for an official decision.
The 26-year-old, who saw his celebrations spoiled and left the paddock before
his fate was declared, 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.”
The decision promoted Kevin Magnussen, on his debut with McLaren,
to second, and his team-mate Jenson Button to third.
After 58 laps which passed with unexpected normality, Formula One did not do
itself any favours. After all, this was supposed to be the race which
plunged the sport into a world of doom and chaos. The war of attrition would
be too much for the new engines, for the new cars, and according to the
naysayers, spectators would be left watching little more than a handful of
cars gingerly tiptoeing their way around, desperately trying to save fuel.
Plainly, expectations were too low. But the ability of F1 to leave itself open
to mockery reared its ugly head. Considering all the remarkable new
technology and software these hybrid cars are equipped with, it is baffling
that a more instant decision was not possible.
On the positive side, only four cars retired due to mechanical failures. Nico
Rosberg, who ran out the dominant winner, said he had not been overly
preoccupied with fuel saving.
For 1hr 32min this was a good story for Formula One – even though it was not
the most scintillating of races – and one that was needed after the barrage
of criticism the new soundtrack has faced.
After a frenetic opening, in which we lost the favourite Lewis Hamilton and
the reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, both with engine trouble, it settled
down in relatively processional fashion. It was reassuring in its
familiarity, and the racing will surely improve once the teams learn how to
master the new regulations.
Even the rookies managed to handle the more intellectual formula, with
Magnussen claiming second while 19-year-old Daniil Kvyat ended up ninth.
Magnussen said afterwards that his podium “felt like a win”, while Ron
Dennis, the man who hired him, praised the Dane’s “mature” and faultless
performance.
The most experienced man in the sport, Button, had been one of those fearful
persistent fuel saving would harm the racing. But after a strong drive from
10th on the grid, which helped to put McLaren top of the constructors’
championship after a torrid 2013, the 34-year-old was upbeat about the
sport’s new era.
“I think the racing is going to get better,” Button said on Sunday night. “I
think this is a good start to the 2014 season for Formula One, as a whole.
Hopefully we just improve from here.”
But all the post-race deliberations and arguments left an unpleasant taste in
the mouth. Improvement in how quickly the FIA comes to the kind of decision
which affected Ricciardo is surely the most pressing concern. The appeal
process now awaits, but this is unlikely to be the last time disputes over
fuel consumption continue long after a race has finished.
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