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Williams F1 driver pairing Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were both disqualified from the Singapore Grand Prix qualifying after their cars were found to be non-compliant with the FIA's technical regulations. The DRS on both machines, when opened, exceeded the maximum limit of 85 mm, meaning their results in qualifying are now deemed void.
Williams already had an underwhelming outing during qualifying for the Singapore GP on Saturday, as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz finished in P12 and P13, respectively, after getting knocked out in Q2. Now, their day has gone from bad to worse, as both their drivers have been disqualified from the session.
This update comes after both the #23 and #55 cars failed a post-qualifying inspection on their rear wings, which were found to be non-compliant with the sport's technical regulations as they exceeded the maximum limit of 85 mm when DRS was deployed.
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The stewards noted:
"The DRS in the state of deployment exceeded the maximum limit of 85 mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area." [via FIA]
The stewards also mentioned in their report that although the Williams team admitted that they found their rear wings to be compliant with the regulations during their pre-session tests, there was now a very obvious discrepancy in the FIA's measurements.
The Grove-based outfit has not contested the FIA's decision and has admitted that the rear wings on both their cars were not in compliance with the technical regulations.
Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon will now start right from the back of the grid on Sunday. While not ideal, P12 and P13 would surely have been a more favorable place to start compared to P19 and P20.
This mistake from the team will come as a downer for the drivers, especially Carlos Sainz, who was looking to build on his performance at the recently concluded Azerbaijan GP, where he finished third.
Williams boss responds to Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon's disqualification from Singapore GP qualifying
Williams F1 has released a statement from team principal James Vowles after Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were both disqualified from the Singapore GP qualifying. The Briton claimed that it was "bitterly disappointing" for the team and that they will initiate an "urgent" investigation into how they committed this mistake.
Vowles also added that the team was not seeking any performance advantage with their non-compliant rear wing.
"This is bitterly disappointing for the team and we are urgently investigating how this happened," read the statement.
"At no point were we seeking a performance advantage and the rear wings had passed our own checks earlier in the day, but there is only one measurement that matters and we fully accept the FIA ruling," it added.
Vowles concluded his statement by saying that the Williams car is good enough to score points on Sunday and that they will do everything in their power to fight back into the points from the back of the grid.
