Mercedes faced the risk of disqualification during qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but the stewards have now made their ruling. Saturday in Las Vegas began with several surprises in the wet qualifying sessions, including Mercedes potentially facing penalties. Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was eliminated in Q1, ending the promising form shown by the young Italian driver.
The two Mercedes cars came under scrutiny from the FIA because the team did not submit the required setup sheets before the session. After qualifying, the Federation called the team to explain this procedural error, requiring Brackley to justify the missing documents.
The stewards’ decision
The FIA has issued its final decision regarding the possible disqualification of Mercedes from Las Vegas qualifying. The team had violated Article 40.1 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations. However, the stewards decided not to impose any penalty on Mercedes.
According to the official FIA statement, despite the team failing to submit the documents on time, they were able to prove that the files had been sent via email, but a technical issue prevented their delivery.
As a result, the German team avoids disqualification, a ruling that preserves their chances for tomorrow’s race and maintains their fight in the Constructors’ Championship against Red Bull and Ferrari. George Russell will therefore start from fourth position in the car that achieved a one-two finish at this same American circuit last year.
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