Haas drivers disqualified from Monaco qualifying after technical infringement

After qualifying 12th and 15th, Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen have been disqualified.

Both cars, which had both gotten into Q2 earlier today, were found in violation of Article 3.10.10 h of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations, which has to do with the rear wings of the cars.

Technical infringement

According to the Stewards’ ruling: “The Technical Delegate discovered on examination that the uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions exceeded the maximum allowed under Article 3.10.10.h of the Technical Regulations of 85mm.”

Haas admitted to the violation, stating that it was an “inadvertent error” due to the fact that the wing was a new design that they hadn’t used before and that the mechanics had not properly been trained to set the gap with the new piece of equipment.

As a result of the infraction, both cars will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix from the pit lane after being disqualified from Qualifying.

Hulkenberg, who qualified 12th, felt that the car had good pace, stating after the session: “I think the car is where it’s been looking all weekend, just not quite good enough for the top 10. My last lap was pretty clean in Q2, so I’m happy about that.

“Unfortunately, we just weren’t quick enough, but where we are in P12, we’re going to need to roll the dice and take some risks to get a result. We’ll have to see where everything unravels after the start.”

Unfortunately for Hulkenberg, he won’t actually be starting 12th, and at a track where overtaking is difficult if not impossible, he may be looking to take even more risks.

Magnussen, who qualified in 15th behind his teammate, was unhappy with his qualifying session even before the disqualification.

The pace was there in the car and I think we could’ve been fighting for Q3,” he said. “And Q3 in Monaco means you score points, so I’m pretty gutted again. We fueled the car for another lap in case in the first lap we encountered traffic, and we could abort. I started the push lap, gained more than one tenth in the first corner but we aborted the lap. In the second lap, there was traffic the whole lap.”

Feature Image Credit: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team