Ricciardo 'pumped' despite losing appeal

Red Bull driver placed at 10th in Australian GP standings

PARIS: 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.

International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) International Court of Appeal issued a ruling after a six-hour hearing on Monday during which Mercedes had called for the punishment to be harsher.

Ricciardo took the anticipated reverse on the chin, declaring on Red Bull's Twitter account: "I'm stronger for it and hungrier than ever. Not that I need any more motivation, I'm pumped!"

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

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