Red Bull and the FIA lock horns once again in fuel row

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The on-going saga surrounding Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix looks set to be one of the main talking points in Malaysia this weekend after Red Bull suffered yet another fuel sensor failure on its RB10 car.

Ricciardo was disqualified from the opening race of the season in Australia after his car was deemed to have exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow of 100kg/h, but Red Bull stringently denied this. The team insisted that although the FIA homologated sensor did suggest that the team had broken this regulation, its own sensor (a more sophisticated one, in the eyes of the team) showed that Ricciardo’s car was indeed legal.

The saga took another twist on the Thursday when the team suggested that its argument against the ruling – set to be heard at an appeal on April 14 – lies in the wording of the technical regulations. The team believes that the rules state that the FIA sensor is merely the suggested form of measurement from race director Charlie Whiting, and not the ‘definitive’ guide, meaning that the management was entitled to use their own sensor as the final reading.

On Friday, team principal Christian Horner confirmed to the media that Ricciardo had suffered yet another fuel sensor failure during the first practice session, and he reached out to the FIA to hold talks in order to avoid another saga like the one that unfurled in Australia.

“We had a signal failure on Daniel’s car this morning, so we obviously have replaced that for this afternoon’s session,” Horner explained. “I haven’t had the results of that.

“We find ourselves in an awkward situation, but it is one where we will try to work with the FIA, but again you are faced with the same dilemma as Australia a couple of weeks ago.”

A number of other teams did raise concerns about the FIA’s readings in Australia, but all bar Red Bull chose to remain within the guidelines set regardless.

In an unscheduled press conference held on the matter, Charlie Whiting made clear that the regulations are written to be stuck to, meaning that only the FIA’s reading is valid.

“Article 5.10 makes it quite clear in my view that the only way the fuel flow will be measured is with the homologated sensor,” he explained. “To me, it is perfectly clear.”

The dilemma Red Bull now faces is how it continues throughout the course of the weekend. Should the team elect to flout the FIA’s reading once again, it would risk having both cars disqualified again come the end of the race in Australia. However, adhering to the guidelines and the FIA measurements could severely undermine the team’s argument when it comes to the hearing in Paris next month.

Formula 1 is never short of controversy, but this is a particularly early start given that we are just one race into the new season.

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan
Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

Lawrence defends Deegan
A block pass by Haiden Deegan led to a series of events that eventually led to Jordon Smith failing to make the Main. – Feld Motor Sports

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.