Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Alex Albon was dropped from a provisional P14 to P19 for the Miami sprint after the FIA belatedly deleted an SQ1 lap for a Turn 6 track-limits breach, a delay that also cost Liam Lawson the SQ2 place he should have inherited.
The problem began in SQ1, when Albon’s 1:30.988 was enough to put the Williams driver through in P16 while Lawson missed the cut in P17 with a 1:31.043. Racing Bulls then spotted a possible infringement on onboard footage and alerted the FIA, believing Albon’s lap should be removed.
That triggered the confusion in the pit lane. Lawson returned from the weigh bridge, put his helmet back on and climbed into his VCARB 03 as the team waited to see whether a place in SQ2 would open up. Racing Bulls said: “We were waiting to hear about whether another car would be disqualified, so was prepped in case he could go back out.” But Albon had already been allowed onto the track for SQ2, so Lawson never got the chance to run.
The stewards later confirmed the breach should have been penalized. In their decision, they said: “During SQ1, Car 23 clearly exceeded track limits in turn 6. However this was not reported to the Stewards until SQ2 had commenced.” They added that the lap was “sufficient to place it in SQ2” and that by the time they were informed, “it was already on track in SQ2.”
Because the case had been identified too late, the FIA called it an “unusual situation” and used Article 11.7.1.a of the International Sporting Code to correct the result after the session. The stewards deleted “the lap time of the lap in question in SQ1” and ruled that, “As Car 23 should not have proceeded into SQ2, all lap times from SQ2 will consequently be deleted.”
That left Albon classified 19th for the sprint instead of 14th. Carlos Sainz, Arvid Lindblad, Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez all moved up one place, with Lawson recovering only to 16th on the grid rather than getting the SQ2 shot his team had been waiting for.
Lawson made clear where his frustration lay. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls driver, said after the session: “Alex did track limits, but I think they realised too late.” He added: “Honestly I can't understand how that's possible, but from our understanding, he's literally done track limits and then gone through to Q2.”
The ruling closed the loophole in the final classification, but only after sprint qualifying had continued without the driver who should have advanced, leaving both Williams and Racing Bulls affected by an FIA error that changed the shape of the session after the flag.