Gabriel Bortoleto was disqualified from the Miami sprint race due to a technical error at Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto was retroactively disqualified from the Miami Sprint race. The intake pressure of his engine had temporarily exceeded the 4.8 barA limit prescribed in the regulations, resulting in the Brazilian being removed from the standings.
The FIA’s official ruling notes that the team has admitted to this error. According to Audi, the threshold was exceeded in only a single lap. Steps were subsequently taken to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the ruling explicitly emphasizes that the car must comply with the regulations at all times during the event. This was not the case during the Miami Sprint.
Timo Glock shared his thoughts on the situation with Sky Deutschland: “There must have been a mistake somewhere in the process,” the former Formula 1 driver concluded.
“Because, in the end, it’s the same intake where the air flows toward the engine, just like it was in the first races. I haven’t seen anywhere that Audi released an update regarding that. There must have been a problem somewhere in the preparations for the weekend, because I’ve rarely heard of that mistake.”
The disqualification isn’t too drastic for Bortoleto. After all, the Audi driver had only finished the race in eleventh place and thus loses no points. In the Sprint, points are awarded only for the top eight positions, while on Sunday the top ten drivers earn points. Nevertheless, the Miami Sprint weekend has been far from successful for the team so far.
Frustrating weekend for Audi
While Bortoleto at least had the chance to battle with the competition in the midfield, Nico Hülkenberg had to park his Audi race car even before the start of the Sprint race. During the formation lap, the 38-year-old’s R26 literally went up in smoke. Initial assessments suggest it may have been a hydraulic failure. On Friday, both drivers also narrowly missed qualifying for the SQ3.
Whether they’ll get a chance on Sunday to pick up a point or two for the World Championship standings depends, among other things, on the forecast of erratic weather in Miami. Following qualifying, the FIA is discussing a possible postponement of the race start.