FIA DISQUALIFY F1 star at Azerbaijan GP

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Azerbaijan Grand Prix

FIA DISQUALIFY F1 star at Azerbaijan GP

The FIA have handed Pierre Gasly a hefty punishment

Jay Winter

Saturday 14 September 2024 20:27 Updated: 13:20

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Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has been disqualified from qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following a fuel flow breach, adding insult to injury for Alpine after an already difficult weekend ahead of Sunday's race.

The Frenchman, who initially qualified 13th, was penalised after stewards determined his car exceeded the maximum allowed fuel flow during his final Q2 lap.

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Despite a challenging start to the weekend, where Gasly struggled in practice, he showed a marked improvement in qualifying.

After running as high as fourth in Q1, he comfortably advanced to Q2 and secured 13th on the grid, outperforming rivals Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll.

Gasly will start from the back of the F1 grid on Sunday

However, his efforts were undone when the FIA detected a breach of Article 5.2.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations, which limits the instantaneous fuel mass flow to 100kg/h.

Gasly, along with Alpine representatives, was summoned by the stewards after qualifying.

The team confirmed a "short duration technical fault" caused the fuel flow to exceed the limit, but despite arguing that no performance advantage was gained, the breach resulted in an automatic disqualification.

Gasly only has eight points to his name in F1 this season

FIA statement confirms disqualification

The FIA’s official report confirmed the details of Gasly’s disqualification, stating, "The Technical Delegate reported that Car 10 [Gasly] exceeded the permitted 100kg/h fuel mass flow on the final timed lap of Q2."

Alpine explained the breach occurred due to an unexpected technical fault, which momentarily increased the fuel flow.

However, the FIA Technical Delegate agreed that while the breach was unintentional, the regulations were still broken.

Despite Alpine’s defence that the technical fault slowed Gasly’s lap and provided no advantage, the stewards applied the standard penalty for such a violation.

Alpine have struggled to make an impact this season

As outlined in the FIA’s regulations, "If an automobile is found not to comply with the applicable technical regulations, it shall be no defence to claim that no performance advantage was obtained."

Gasly’s disqualification mirrors similar incidents earlier in the season, where Alex Albon and the Haas drivers were excluded from qualifying for technical infringements.

Despite the setback, Gasly has been granted permission to start from the back of the grid on Sunday, joining Zhou Guanyu, who also received a grid penalty this weekend for power unit changes.

The Frenchman will now face an uphill battle in Sunday’s race as he looks to recover from the disqualification and salvage points for Alpine in what promises to be a dramatic Azerbaijan Grand Prix.