Red Bull and the Flow Meters, Repeated Failures

Over the weekend in Malaysia, Red Bull encountered new problems with the FIA’s flow meters. Red Bull F1 director Christian Horner recounts the incident on *Autosport*: [The sensor] stopped working before the race. We informed the FIA and asked them if we could restart it on the grid by rebooting the car. We did that at the start of the race but it still wasn’t working. As a result, the flow meter didn’t work for the entire race. I think it clearly shows that these sensors are unreliable.

Flow meters are a battleground for Red Bull, which did not hesitate in Australia to disregard repeated FIA instructions, preferring to rely on its own measurements, leading to Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification, who finished second, but whose car consistently exceeded the maximum authorized flow of 100kg/h. Subsequently, members of the Austrian team’s management have repeatedly explained that the sensors were not a satisfactory measuring instrument.

When Christian Horner is asked if Red Bull is the only team encountering so many issues, he replies: « I don’t know. But we have a lot of data to sift through. Theoretically, there is no reason, but we must understand what is happening. Apparently, everyone else is satisfied with these flow meters. »

« However, Toro Rosso experienced two failures earlier in the weekend and other problems appeared left and right in the paddock. These are the only ones we have heard about, but it is certainly not limited to Red Bull. » *Autosport* revealed already, after the Friday session of the Malaysian weekend, that Toro Rosso also had [difficulties with the sensors](https://www.example.com).

Will this new incident tip the balance in favor of the Austrian team during the appeal of Ricciardo’s disqualification? Answer on April 14.