FIA confirm F1 team DISQUALIFICATION in Monaco shock

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Monaco Grand Prix

FIA confirm F1 team DISQUALIFICATION in Monaco shock

Haas have been disqualified from the session

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 25 May 2024 20:36 Updated: 00:11

A Formula 1 team have had both of their cars disqualified from qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix, after breaking certain rules.

Saturday's qualifying session was a thrilling affair, with four teams all battling it out for pole position at a track where grid position is so important.

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Ferrari's Charles Leclerc managed to snatch top spot, with Oscar Piastri and Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz rounding out the top five. Max Verstappen could only come a distant sixth, with Sergio Perez all the way down in 18th.

Now, another team who faced a rough day in qualifying have been disqualified due to issues with their DRS system.

Charles Leclerc took pole position in Monaco

Both Haas drivers were in trouble with the stewards

Haas disqualified from Monaco qualifying

Haas' Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen originally qualified 12th and 15th in the principality, with Hulkenberg narrowly missing out on a place in Q3.

However, those grid positions will now be taken away from them, with the pair disqualified from qualifying altogether.

This is because of a non-compliance on both Haas cars in accordance to regulations surrounding rear wings, and the DRS flap that opens in DRS zones around the track.

Haas had introduced a new rear wing in order to try and maximise downforce on their car at Monaco, but have exceeded the maximum 85mm opening in the wing for DRS.

This is a similar issue that saw Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Brazilian GP qualifying back in 2021, when his car also exceeded the 85mm maximum.

Haas have been disqualified from Monaco GP qualifying

In a statement released for both drivers by the FIA, race stewards said: "The Technical Delegate discovered on examination that the uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions exceeded the maximum allowed under Article 3.10.10.h of the Technical Regulations of 85mm.

"The team explained that this was the consequence of an inadvertent error on their part in setting the wing flap gap. The wing used was a new design that was used for the first time in Monaco. The old design was set to be compliant with the regulations with the largest gap measured from the centre of the wing. Under the new design, the largest gap was at the extremities of the wing but the team had not trained its mechanics to set the gap per the new design, resulting in the non-compliance.

"The duty to comply strictly with the Technical Regulations rests at all times with the Competitor. The team suggested that there was no performance advantage gained by the non-compliance. Article 1.3.3 of the International Sporting Code makes it clear that this is irrelevant. The team was candid in admitting its error. The wing was otherwise compliant with the Technical Regulations and the FIA technical team confirmed that they were satisfied with the team’s explanation for the error.

"Given the admitted breach of the regulations, we disqualified Car 27 (and Car 20) from the Qualifying classification."

It means that Perez will now move up into 16th while Fernando Alonso, who failed to get out of Q1 for the second race in a row, will start in 14th, barring any other penalties.

Will Haas now start the Monaco Grand Prix?

Despite their disqualification from qualifying, both Haas drivers in Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen will start the race with permission from the FIA despite failing to set a timed lap.

Having appealed to the stewards to allow them to start the race, F1's governing body are satisfied the team are still able to run competitively against the field having technically failed the 107 per cent rule.

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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