RICCIARDO FACING DISQUALIFICATION

Daniel Ricciardo facing disqualification – Photo: LAT

Daniel Ricciardo and his Renault teammate Nico Hülkenberg were classed sixth and 10th in the Japanese Grand Prix, but they could be disqualified as a protest has been filed regarding the technical legality of their cars.

By DAN KNUTSON

After the race – won by Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas – was over, the Racing Point team filed a protest against the Renault team. The protest concerns “an alleged pre-set lap distance-dependent brake bias adjustment system on cars 3 and 27,” according to a statement put out by the stewards of the Japanese Grand Prix.

The stewards ruled that the protest is admissible.

“This point was agreed to by the team representatives of the Renault F1 Team,” the statement said.

“The FIA Technical Department representative was directed to seal and impound the FIA standard electronic control units and steering wheels of cars 3 and 27 in preparation for conducting a detailed analysis of those pieces.”

“The representative is further directed to conduct a detailed analysis of the hardware, software, and data associated with them and, when complete, provide a written report to the Stewards with their findings, to include an assessment that matches those findings against the potential technical infringements detailed in the protest.”

“The representative is authorized in the name of the Stewards to call upon such outside technical assistance, including representatives of the Renault F1 and SportPesa Racing Point F1 Teams, in the conduct of their assessment.”

“When the likely submission date of the assessment can be determined, the FIA Technical Department representative will communicate that to the Chairman of the Stewards so that the next meeting time to assess the claims made in the protest can be scheduled.”

Ricciardo and Hülkenberg retain their finishing places and points from the race in Japan, but they could lose them later if the protest is successful.

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