Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul has attacked the FIA over the disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo from Singapore GP qualifying.
The Australian was thrown out of his P8 slot after his MGU-K was deemed to have exceeded the permitted power limit of 120kw after a kerb strike during Q1.
Making their case, the French manufacturer argued the breach had been minimal, the advantage gained was a microsecond and it came on a lap which wasn’t even Ricciardo’s fastest in that segment.
In the race, the 30-year-old would make decent progress before slipping down to 14th following contact with Antonio Giovinazzi, leaving Ricciardo “disgusted” with the stewards.
And his Renault boss was equally furious as he ripped into Formula 1’s governing body.
“It’s a bit sad because we all know the fans want less penalties, that’s obvious,” Abiteboul said this week.
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“It’s strange because on the one side you can see that on the race track [race director] Michael Masi is coming with a new doctrine, the black and white flag as a sort of yellow card, so we’re trying to be sensible about the regulations and the impact on the sport and the show.
“And on the other side we have this, and for me, there is a disconnect between the two that we can only regret because we were on the receiving end, and obviously you can’t expect anything else from me.
“In my opinion in the future, there has to be a discussion with the FIA on whether we want to follow more that system that is going on on the race track, or that strict application based on machines, not based on people,” he continued.
“We will be able to save lots of money when we will be able to be governed by machines in the future.
“We’re trying to be a bit less black and white on track. There are other precedents. The same thing happened to Pierre Gasly [a fuel flow irregularity in Baku] earlier in the season. I think some of the people at the FIA are losing the plot, in my opinion.”
In response to the initial argument made by Ricciardo, comparing his one lap with the power breach to how the FIA erase lap times for track limits, Masi made a clear distinction.
“When it comes to technical infringements, Martin Brundle put it best, you’re either pregnant or you’re not,” he said.
“It’s one of those. I think everyone knows when it comes to technical infringements of that nature what the outcome is. You either are or you aren’t.
“I can feel for Daniel, it was an error, and sadly it is what it is. Personally I think we’re treading on dangerous territory when we’re starting with technical infringements in particular building margins in upon margins.”
It is suggested Renault has previously been warned about similar incidents during practice sessions this season but may well have ignored the FIA’s request to address the issue.