Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar is facing disqualification from Miami Grand Prix qualifying due to a floor legality breach.
Hadjar qualified ninth in Miami. He has struggled compared to team-mate Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s upgraded RB23.
Floor Breach Leads to Potential Disqualification
Hadjar will likely be disqualified from the session results after being referred to the stewards following post-qualifying technical checks.
The summons for Hadjar to see the stewards is scheduled for 7am on Sunday morning.
A check of the legality volumes of Hadjar’s floor showed the floor board protruded 2mm too far on the left and right hand side.
Technical rule breaches are usually treated as black-and-white situations, regardless of the reason for a breach, which means disqualification.
Red Bull’s Upgrade Package
Hadjar was using Red Bull’s full upgrade package, the same as Verstappen. This included revisions to the front of the floor.
He has been much slower than Verstappen and described the car as “very hard to drive but very fast”. He said he just “couldn’t put it all together” and also had an unspecified straightline speed problem.
“It’s a very, very tricky track, very low grip with a high track temperature,” Hadjar said.
“It’s not a very flowy racing track with good grip, it’s completely different. And Max is very, very good at adapting to these conditions.
“In the corners I can tell you I’ve made big, big progress compared to yesterday. Just I couldn’t tidy up like he did. And on top of that, I’m missing on every straight.”
Miami Qualifying Results
- F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli resisted a surprise challenge from Max Verstappen to take Miami GP pole.
- Miami GP qualifying produced a massive shift in the F1 pecking order compared to the sprint race that had run just hours beforehand.
- McLaren slumped after its sprint win.
The start of Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix has been brought forward three hours.