AUSTIN, Texas -- Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull was down on power at the Japanese Grand Prix due to an inconsistent fuel flow metre, according to the Australian driver.
Ricciardo reported a lack of power from his Renault engine following qualifying at Suzuka and spent much of the weekend off the pace of teammate Max Verstappen. The fuel flow metres are supplied by the FIA and installed on every engine to make sure they do not exceed the maximum fuel flow rate of 100kg/hour during the race.
"There was a little bit we found out afterwards with the fuel flow metre," Ricciardo said. "There is still a little bit of inconsistency, and you see even across cars, and that is some have a little bit more on them than others, and it is just sometimes luck of the draw.
"But both of us have got new power units here, our fifth and last one for the year. So hopefully it is all pretty good again."
The fuel flow rate is a central part of the current engine regulations that forces manufacturers to chase performance by improving fuel efficiency rather than simply burning more fuel. At the first race of the V6 turbo era Ricciardo was stripped of a podium after the metre on Ricciardo's Red Bull recorded a fuel flow rate in excess of 100kg/hour. Back then Red Bull claimed that the FIA metre was inaccurate and it was running 100kg/hour according to its own data, but the disqualification was upheld.
Ricciardo also revealed that his car was scrubbing off speed as it bottomed out along the straights.
"It looked like I was grounding a bit more as well. So scrubbing off a bit more speed on the straights. So a couple things which probably emphasized it [the lack of straight-line speed].
Asked if he was running a different set-up to teammate Verstappen, Ricciardo said: "We did have a slightly different set up. Maybe with the rear springs, and that maybe meant I had to run a slightly different ride height that had an influence. It was I think a small thing like that, so there was a subtle ride height difference.
"For me in the car I am not too bothered if it is grounding a lot, and the engineers are always asking 'do you think we are too low?', 'Is it affecting you when you brake?' I am not too upset by it, so in the end I normally go with what the aero guys suggest. It is trying to run it as low as possible without being affected by the bumps or anything on the track. So perhaps I am not that disturbed by a bit grounding, so that is why some times we run a bit lower."