Alex Albon Loses Dutch GP Fourth-Row Start over Technical Infringement

Alex Albon Loses Dutch GP Fourth-Row Start over Technical Infringement

Williams driver, Alex Albon put in a strong performance earlier today to secure a top-10 starting position for the 2024 Dutch GP. The British-Thai driver’s final flying Q3 effort bagged him a fourth-row start from P8 alongside Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

However, the #23 driver has been disqualified from the session after an alleged technical infringement was reported on his FW46. The FIA’s technical delegate, Jo Bauer referred Albon to the stewards after the latter’s car was found in violation of the FIA’s Technical Regulations.

According to the FIA’s decision document no. 35, “After the Qualifying session the aerodynamic component and bodywork areas were checked on car number 23. The floor body was found to lie outside the regulatory volume mentioned in Article 3.5.1 a).”

Article 3.5.1 a) of the Technical Regulations stipulates that the car’s floor body must adhere to the reference volume as calculated under Article 5.26 of Appendix 1. Upon inspection, it was found by the technical delegate that Albon’s FW46 did not adhere to the said floor body reference volume parameter.

As a result, the stewards had taken cognizance of the incident. The 28-year-old had been summoned to the stewards along with a team representative. The hearing on Albon’s fate was scheduled to take place at 18:30 (GMT+2).

As of 19:55 (GMT+2), Albon has been disqualified by the stewards for infringing Article 3.5.1 a) of the Technical Regulations. The official verdict from the FIA read, “The team did not dispute the calibration of the FIA measuring system and the measurement of the car, but stated that their own measurements have produced different results.”

As per the internal procedures of the FIA, Williams can appeal this decision. However, given the nature of the infringement, it is unlikely that the penalty would be overturned.

Post Edited By: Aishwary Gaonkar
Alex Albon Dutch GP Williams

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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