Technical directives are just opinions: Horner

Red Bull boss insists no rules were broken in Melbourne as appeal hearing looms.

LONDON:

The first big technical controversy of Formula One’s new engine era has its day in court on Monday with champions Red Bull confident they have a strong case in appealing Daniel Ricciardo’s Australian Grand Prix exclusion.

Ricciardo finished second in his home race last month, his debut for Red Bull, but was disqualified hours later when stewards ruled his car had breached the new fuel flow regulations.

Red Bull are sure to argue that a technical directive relating to the issue, and sent out by the governing body before the start of the season to all teams, had no regulatory value.

“We are very confident that we can demonstrate that we complied with the rules at all times,” said team principal Christian Horner.

“If you look at the facts, it’s a very simple case. The rules are very clear. Technical directives are just opinions, not rules. Did we break the rules or not? It’s as simple as that.”

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has expressed confidence that the sensors it provides to all teams are accurate. In Melbourne, instead of relying on the official sensor provided by the governing body Red Bull declared it too inconsistent and used their own measurements instead.

Ricciardo was then disqualified when stewards ruled his car had exceeded the maximum fuel flow limit of 100kg per hour — a breach which could have given a significant performance advantage over others.

The FIA says also that Red Bull ignored requests to reduce the fuel flow rate during the race.

McLaren will be among those following events closely, having benefited from Ricciardo’s exclusion with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen promoted to second and Jenson Button to third.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2014.

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