Williams Cars Face Potential Disqualification After Singapore Qualifying
Both Williams F1 cars have failed post-qualifying inspections at the Singapore Grand Prix, putting Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon at serious risk of being thrown out of the results.
FIA officials found problems with the rear wings on both cars during their routine checks.
The technical issue? Both Williams FW47s had rear wings that were too big, exceeding the maximum allowed size of 85mm on both sides of the outer area.
“The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car numbers 23 and 55,” the FIA explained. “Both cars exceeded the maximum limit of 85 mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.”
The cars have officially been referred to the stewards for breaching Article 3.10.10 (g) of the technical regulations.
This comes as a tough blow for the team after their recent success.
Williams had been riding high following Alex Albon’s brilliant podium finish in Baku just a week ago. But the team led by James Vowles quickly came back down to earth in Singapore.
Neither driver managed to reach Q3 in qualifying at Marina Bay.
Albon qualified 12th, just ahead of teammate Sainz, with both missing the final qualifying session by barely a tenth of a second to rookie Oliver Bearman in the Haas.
Now, their actual qualifying positions might not even matter.
The standard penalty for this type of technical breach is disqualification from qualifying results. If applied, both Williams drivers would likely start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid or potentially even from the pitlane.
It’s a frustrating setback for a team that had finally started showing real progress after years of struggling at the back of the field.
The stewards’ decision is expected soon.
GPblog’s newest F1 Paddock Update is here!
If you want to stay in the loop with everything happening inside the Formula 1 paddock, this video series is exactly what you need. Subscribe to GPblog’s YouTube channel and enable notifications so you never miss an episode.
Follow us on Spotify too!
