Whincup cleared of unsafe release

Whincup and Fabian Coulthard were involved in an awkward pitlane scuffle in today's final heat, Coulthard hitting the brakes before turning into his pit bay to avoid Whincup who had just completed his stop.

There was minor contact between the pair, while the wider implications included Whincup jumping Scott McLaughlin for the lead in the stops, and Coulthard ending up stuck behind Chaz Mostert for the remainder of the race.

Both outcomes conspired to hand Whincup the Triple Crown, he and Coulthard ending the weekend locked on points with Whincup winning on a countback.

Speaking immediately after the race, Coulthard hinted that a protest could be coming. 

"I think the witness mark on the front of my car, and the skid mark to stop to avoid him, is pretty clear," he told Fox Sports. 

"Blind Freddy could have seen that I was impeded. That cost me a position to Chaz, if I'd stayed in front of Chaz the outcome would have been very different. 

"Who knows what's going to happen, it might not be the last we hear of this..."

However Motorsport.com understands there will be no further action, with Whincup's race win and Triple Crown both set to stand.

Whincup, meanwhile, had a different take in his post-race appraisal, accusing Coulthard of trying to block him.

"We’re pretty proud of ourselves that we didn’t get baulked by car #12 in the pits there," he told Fox Sports.

"We had a crack and… well done to Team Penske for trying to get car #12 in the way to get #17 the win, but we just didn’t allow it."