Esteban Ocon will start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the back of the grid after the FIA confirmed that his Haas car failed a rear wing deflection test. The FIA found that the gap between sections of the rear wing exceeded the allowed tolerance. It measured 0.6mm on the left side and 0.825mm on the right, above the 0.5 limit set by the regulations.
In a statement, the FIA confirmed, “The Stewards determine that the vehicle does not comply with the regulations and hence impose the usual penalty of disqualification from the Qualifying classifications.”
Haas confirmed they followed the test procedure, but mentioned the difference was caused by a production issue with the assembly. As the FIA explained: “The team conceded that the test procedure as outlined in the regulations had been followed and explained that the discrepancy was a result of a problem with the production of the assembly of this specific part.”
A challenging session
Ocon’s struggle in Baku was already evident before the disqualification. The French driver was eliminated in Q1 of qualifying and was set to start 18th for the Azerbaijan GP. Shortly after qualifying, he admitted, “No, we changed the car, that’s for sure. We changed it quite a lot actually. But I don’t think it necessarily comes from that. We had a massive braking problem in that qualifying.”
He explained that locking up repeatedly prevented him from putting together a clean lap. “I think in my lap I must have locked up three times and couldn’t get the car stopped, run wide in most corners. Obviously, the wind didn’t make things easy, but that’s not the reason why we are out there now. It was for everyone the same.”
Lost opportunities
Ocon highlighted that the car had more potential, noting that he had even managed P8 in FP2. “There’s so much pace in the car and it’s a day wasted, so I hope we can get some opportunities tomorrow. There was more in hand. Disappointed day, but hopefully we can get something out of tomorrow.”
Following his qualifying disqualification, Ocon will start from pit lane. Pierre Gasly moves to 18th and Alex Albon 19th.
