The FIA has confirmed that both Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the pit lane as a result of being excluded from Saturday’s qualifying result.
During scrutineering Red Bull were found to have been using an illegal front-wing on both cars which was flexing outside the allowed tolerances.
As well as being excluded and pushed to the back of the grid, the team were forced to change their front-wing for one which met the technical regulations.
To do this, both cars had to be removed from parc fermé conditons and therefore, as per the rules, they must start from the pit lane.
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-120x86.webp)
“Car 1 and 3 is required to start the race from the pit lane,” confirmed a statement from the race stewards.
“Although the team carried out work with the approval of the technical delegate, parts have been replaced on the car that are different to those originally used.”
Click here to see the revised F1 grid for the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-350x250.webp)
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