Driver's DSQ confirmed as technical infringement discovered in qualifying in Azerbaijan

After qualifying in Baku, a technical infringement was discovered which led to the disqualification of Pierre Gasly.

During qualifying, it was discovered that Pierre Gasly's car had exceeded the fuel flow limit, putting his provisional 13th place on the grid in jeopardy.

Pierre Gasly disqualified from Baku qualifying results

The Alpine driver qualified 13th for Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but that position was in jeopardy when a technical infringement was discovered on his car during the session.

According to FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer, Gasly's car was found to be exceeding the maximum allowable fuel flow at all times. In theory, this spike could allow the engine to extract more horsepower.

“Car number 10, driver Pierre Gasly exceeded the current fuel mass flow at 16:38:54,” Bauer submitted in his documents to the race control.

“As this constitutes a breach of Article 5.2.3 of the 2024 Formula 1 Technical Regulations, I refer this matter to Race Direction for investigation.”

Article 5.2.3 of the Technical Regulations is succinct: “The fuel mass flow must not exceed 100 kg/h.”

Race control summoned a representative from Alpine regarding the technical infringement. The meeting with race control was scheduled for 18:30 local time. The verdict was to exclude Gasly from the qualifying results in Baku, but he was given permission to race.

“The Race Direction heard from the team representatives of Car 10 (Pierre Gasly), including the Sporting Director and the engineer involved, the FIA ​​Technical Delegate and the FIA ​​engineers who manage the car’s measurements and data,” begins the Race Direction report.

“The driver was summoned to give him the opportunity to defend himself, but did not appear at the hearing.

“The Technical Delegate reported that Car 10 exceeded the permitted fuel mass flow of 100 kg/h on the final timed lap of Q2.

“The team representatives explained that there had been an unexpected technical defect of short duration which had temporarily increased the fuel mass flow more than expected. The FIA ​​technical department agreed on the cause.

“The fact that the fuel mass flow was greater than the limit at that moment was not disputed by the participant. The participant demonstrated to the stewards that the technical error resulted in a slower lap time and that no performance advantage was achieved at that moment. Therefore, they argue, this should be taken into account as a mitigating factor.

“They also pointed out that the extremely rare violation of this article showed that this was not part of their strategy and that the extent of the temporary violations simply exceeded the margin they maintain to prevent stranding.

“The usual penalty for a breach of the technical regulations is disqualification. Race management points out that Article 1.3.3 of the International Sporting Code states: “If an automobile is found not to comply with the applicable technical regulations, the claim that no performance advantage has been obtained is not a defence.”

“This has long been the position of the International Court of Appeal, alongside the Code.

“The race management therefore imposes the usual penalty and disqualifies the car and driver from the qualifying results.

“The race management hereby grants the vehicle permission to start.”

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