Ricciardo disqualified in Ozposted in F116 | 03 | 2014

AUSSIE DANIEL RICCIARDO (pictured) was dramatically excluded from the Australian Grand Prix hours after he had celebrated his second-place on the podium in front of his home supporters.

Stewards found 'fuel-flow irregularities' in his Red Bull following the FIA reporting that Ricciardo's RB10 had "consistently" exceeded the fuel flow limit of 100kg/h mandated in the new 2014 regulations.

Red Bull immediately announced it would appeal the decision, arguing: "Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pitlane.

"The team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations."

The decision elevated Kevin Magnussen to second, and his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button to third.

The FIA stressed that Red Bull ignored requests to reduce the fuel flow rate on Daniel Ricciardo's car during the race.

Ricciardo's fuel flow meter was changed for final free practice on Saturday following inconsistent readings during Friday's sessions.

Related: Nico Rosberg dominates in Melbourne

But the FIA instructed Red Bull to re-fit the original sensor in parc ferme after qualifying, due to what the governing body described as "unsatisfactory" readings from the replacement sensor.

The FIA said it instructed the team to "apply an offset to their fuel flow" for the race to ensure its legality, but accepted there was a "variation" between the two sensors tried on the car.

Red Bull deemed the sensor unreliable, so decided to use its own fuel flow measurement for the race (with the FIA's required offset factored in) but still used fuel at too fast a rate according to the governing body.

"The FIA technical representative observed through telemetry during the race that fuel flow was too high and contacted the team," the FIA's statement said, "giving them the opportunity to follow his previous instruction and reduce the fuel flow such that it was within the limit, as measured by the homologated sensor - and thus give the team the opportunity to be within compliance.

"The team chose not to make this correction."

The FIA said Red Bull also violated a technical directive by choosing to run its own fuel flow model "without direction from the FIA".

F1 Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (Round 1 of 19) — Result (Amended):

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1h32m58.710s

2. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes +26.777s

3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +30.027s

4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +35.284s

5. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes +47.639s

6. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes +50.718s

7. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +57.675s

8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault +1m00.441s

9. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault +1m03.585s

10. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes +1m25.916s

11. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

12. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

13. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari +2 laps

14. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari +8 laps*

Retirements:

Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault DSQ

Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 43 laps

Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 29 laps

Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 27 laps

Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 3 laps

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2 laps

Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 0 laps

Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 0 laps

Drivers' championship:

1. Nico Rosberg 25

2. Kevin Magnussen 18

3. Jenson Button 15

4. Fernando Alonso 12

5. Valtteri Bottas 10

6. Nico Hulkenberg 8

7. Kimi Raikkonen 6

8. Jean-Eric Vergne 4

9. Daniil Kvyat 2

10. Sergio Perez 1

Constructors' championship:

1. McLaren/Mercedes 33

2. Mercedes 25

3. Ferrari 18

4. Williams/Mercedes 10

5. Force India/Mercedes 9

6. Toro Rosso/Renault 6

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Jim McGill

Photograph: Getty Images