F1 star disqualified at Miami Grand Prix

Max Verstappen, Alexander Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto — Photo: © IMAGO

Miami Grand Prix

F1 star disqualified at Miami Grand Prix

Gabriel Bortoleto was referred to the stewards

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 2 May 2026 21:30 Updated: 22:11

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Audi F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto has been disqualified from a race at the Miami Grand Prix.

F1 is at the Miami International Autodrome this weekend for the fourth round of the season, which is happening five weeks after the third round following the cancellations of both April races due to the war in the Middle East.

In Miami, teams had two opportunities to get points on the board, with it being a sprint race weekend.

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And Audi's Bortoleto led the charge for the Hinwil-based outfit in the sprint race, after his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg failed to even make the start line after a power unit issue.

Bortoleto failed to improve on his sprint qualifying performance of 11th, and so missed out on the points, but in the aftermath of the mini race, it was revealed that he had been referred to the stewards by the FIA's technical delegate Jo Bauer.

That was because Bauer had checked the engine intake air pressure on Bortoleto's Audi, and found it to exceed the maximum limit of 4.8barA.

After being referred to the stewards, it was later confirmed that Bortoleto had indeed been disqualified for the misdemeanour, scratching his 11th place finish from the record.

FIA confirm disqualification

A statement from the FIA stewards said: "The Stewards reviewed the report received from the Technical Delegate and found that the requirement was for the engine intake air pressure to be less than 4.8 barA at all times.

"The pressure was measured by two FIA approved devices that were installed in FIA approved locations situated in the engine intake air system downstream of the charge air cooling system.

"The Stewards heard from the team representatives of Car 5. They admitted that the Technical Delegate’s finding was correct. However, in mitigation, they explained that this happened over one lap, when the temperatures rose higher than they had expected. As soon as that became apparent, they took steps to bring the pressure back in line with the regulations.

"While the fact that they took steps to bring the car back in compliance is recognised, the regulations make it clear that the car needs to be in compliance ‘at all times’, which it was not.

"Given that this is a technical infringement, the usual penalty of a disqualification of Car 5 from the Sprint classification was applied."

It promoted those behind him up one place, with Haas' Esteban Ocon inheriting 11th place, although it had no bearing on the points-paying positions.

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Audi's nightmare start to the weekend

After a pretty solid Friday in which Audi's drivers qualified 11th and 12th for the sprint race, they faced a dismal Saturday.

Hulkenberg was left unable to compete in the sprint race at all after flames and smoke were pouring from the back of his Audi on his lap to the grid ahead of the race.

The German did manage to get out for qualifying later on Saturday, however, after the team fixed his car up.

Bortoleto will be able to compete in grand prix qualifying, but Audi will be frantically trying to ensure that the same issue with their engine intake air pressure doesn't occur when more points are on the line in Sunday's main race.

F1 FIA Miami Grand Prix Audi Gabriel Bortoleto