FIA summons Hadjar after technical infringement
Isack Hadjar, together with a representative of the Red Bull team, will have to appear before the FIA stewards at 07:00 local time in Miami (13:00 CET). It is unlikely to be a pleasant start to the day for the French driver, as he faces the risk of disqualification from yesterday’s qualifying session due to a suspected technical irregularity on the RB22.
During post-qualifying scrutineering, FIA officials led by Jo Bauer identified a breach of Article C3.5.5 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations. The skid block on both the left and right side of the car exceeded the maximum permitted dimensions by two millimetres.
As a result, Hadjar’s ninth-place qualifying result, achieved after reaching Q3, is expected to be deleted from the official classification.
Possible penalty and pit lane start for Red Bull
The likely penalty for Isack Hadjar would be the cancellation of all qualifying times. In this scenario, Red Bull would still be allowed to start the race, but from the pit lane, as the technical infringement would also need to be corrected before the car is deemed legal for competition.
Questions raised in the paddock
The situation has triggered several questions within the paddock. The most obvious one is how the #6 RB22 driven by the French rookie ended up failing to comply with the regulations, while Max Verstappen’s car — which qualified on the front row just 166 thousandths of a second behind pole sitter Kimi Antonelli — passed all checks without issue.
This has led many to suspect a setup or measurement error rather than a deliberate attempt to gain an advantage.
In summary, Isack Hadjar’s qualifying results are under severe threat due to a floor dimension violation on his Red Bull RB22, an issue that will likely force the Frenchman to start the Miami Grand Prix from the pit lane once the technical non-compliance is resolved.
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