Isack Hadjar faced an official disqualification from the qualifying session for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix due to his Red Bull vehicle contravening Formula 1’s technical guidelines.
The RB22 driven by the 21-year-old was found to violate F1 regulation Article C3.5.5, as its left and right floorboards exceeded the allowed dimensions.
However, this revelation was anticipated, as reports quickly surfaced post-qualifying indicating that Hadjar’s car had been deemed non-compliant during technical inspection, making a disqualification highly probable.
Consequently, the French driver will commence Sunday’s competition from the pitlane, despite originally securing the ninth grid spot, a position now awarded to Pierre Gasly, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg taking a place on the fifth row alongside the Alpine.
A declaration from the FIA stated: “The officials received testimony from the team’s delegates representing Car 6 (Isack Hadjar).
“The team representatives acknowledged the technical delegate’s conclusion that parts of both the left-hand side and right-hand side floorboards extended 2mm beyond the defined RV-FLOOR BOARD reference volume.
“This constitutes a violation of Article C3.5.5 of the FIA F1 Regulations, and an acknowledged infringement of technical rules typically results in the standard penalties.
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Chris Graythen / Getty Images
“Participants are informed that they possess the right to contest specific rulings made by the stewards, as per Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 5 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, provided they adhere to the stipulated deadlines.
“The judgments rendered by the stewards are made autonomously from the FIA, relying exclusively on the pertinent regulations, official directives, and the evidence put forward.”
This incident adds to what has been a less-than-ideal weekend for Hadjar, who also did not manage to earn points in Saturday’s sprint race, having started ninth in that abridged event.
Laurent Mekies, the head of the Red Bull team, commented: “We acknowledge our error and accept the stewards’ ruling. No competitive benefit was sought or obtained as a result of this mistake.
“We intend to gain insight from this event and review our operational procedures to determine its cause and implement measures to prevent any recurrence.
“On behalf of the team, we extend our apologies to Isack, our supporters, and our collaborators. Though this is a difficult lesson today, we are committed to progressing.”
The Austrian team’s aspirations for a successful outcome in Miami primarily rest with Max Verstappen, as the four-time global title winner is set to line up on the front row next to polesitter Kimi Antonelli, driving a significantly enhanced RB22.
