Five hours after Nico Rosberg crossed the line to win the Australian Grand Prix there is still no official confirmation of the result.

Problems arose shortly after the race ended when the FIA confirmed it had referred Daniel Ricciardo to the stewards after his car was found to have consistently exceeded the 100kg per hour fuel flow limit.

Christian Horner and Adrian Newey attended a stewards meeting, ducking the waiting press as they emerged. As they returned to the Red Bull garage via the pit lane another media scrum gathered.

Shortly after, Daniel Ricciardo made his way from the team’s hospitality suite in to the garage, avoiding the waiting media and refusing to comment. Spokespersons for the team also refused to be drawn, not that there was much to say as the stewards deliberated over a verdict.

A faulty fuel flow meter was suggested as being one possible cause for the delay. Earlier in the weekend Charlie Whiting had admitted he had seen faulty meters but added they were easy to identify as they were either incredibly accurate or obviously not.

And yet five hours after the race the FIA is still to hand down its verdict. Even Ricciardo had had enough, leaving the Red Bull garage via a side door only to be swamped by a sharp eyed media scrum. His comment was simply that he hoped a decision would be made soon.

He’s not the only one.

Then again, if he is excluded from the result the grandstands are empty and the world will not get to hear the collective sigh of outrage and disappointment.

Check out our race gallery, here.

Mat Coch