The FIA has admitted “we got it wrong” after explaining why a lap deletion was issued late to Nico Hulkenberg, costing Alex Albon and Williams dearly in qualifying for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Albon was a surprise name in the Q1 drop zone, questioning Williams’ decision to leave his final run late.
Hulkenberg was a benefactor, advancing to Q2 by the finest of margins over Albon, 0.042s.
But it wasn’t until after Q2 had already commenced that Hulkenberg was called out for a track limits violation at Turn 11 and his Q1 time was deleted, relegating him to 16th place.
This was little consolation to Albon, who, although he was promoted to 15th, couldn’t contest Q2 to aim higher thanks to the late decision.
Williams boss James Vowles called it an “injustice”, demanding answers from the FIA after qualifying in Bahrain.
“A bit of injustice with Alex today, I’m not feeling good about this,” Vowles told Sky Sports.
“Obviously the track limits are analysed live, but the result for Hulkenberg came way after we would have an opportunity to go to Q2, and today Alex had the pace to make it all the way to Q3.
“What I’d like to understand now is why this happened.”
How the FIA issued Hulkenberg’s penalty in Bahrain
Answers were to come Vowles’ way, whether they provide a crumb of comfort is another matter entirely.
Following Hulkenberg’s lap deletion, the Stewards issued the following account of events.
“During Q1, Car 27 clearly exceeded track limits in Turn 11. However, this was not reported to the Stewards until Q2 had commenced,” the documentation began.
“Car 27’s time recorded on the lap that track limits were exceeded, was sufficient to place it in Q2. Hence at the time the Stewards were informed that Car 27 had breached the Race Directors Event Notes and that its lap should have been deleted, it was already on track in Q2.
“As this is an unusual situation, the Stewards have decided to settle the matter by exercising their authority under Article 11.9.2.a of the FIA International Sporting Code.
“The lap time of 1:31.998 of Car 27 recorded in Q1 is deleted. All lap times of Car 27 in Q2 are deleted. Car 27 will therefore be classified in position 16 in Qualifying.”
But why was this missed?
‘We got it wrong,’ – FIA
As it turns out, Turn 11, the rising left-hand curve after the back straight at the Bahrain International Circuit, wasn’t a designated hot spot with extreme live camera monitoring for track limits.
It wasn’t until Aston Martin pointed out Hulkenberg’s violation that the matter was looked into forensically.
“There are a number of track limit hot spots which are monitored continuously live,” read an FIA statement.
“Track limit hot spots are given precedence. Based on previous sessions, Turn 11 was not deemed to be an area of focus for track limits.
“In hindsight, it should have been higher on our priority list as a corner.
“Checks in areas of the circuit such as Turn 11 take a bit longer than those of a high priority.
“Unfortunately, in this case due to the timing of the check it was not possible to act before the start of Q2.
“As soon as we became aware of the incident, we acted on it.
“We are building towards increased resources and improved systems and processes. On this occasion, we got it wrong.”
Getting it wrong doesn’t help Albon’s chances of extending his points-scoring streak to four GPs from 15th on the grid.
However, speaking after qualifying, the Anglo-Thai driver hadn’t given up all hope.
“We have some of the strongest race pace in the midfield and at least you can overtake on this track,” Albon said.
“It’s going to be tricky to score points, but it is possible and I will give it everything to recover from what happened today.”
Albon’s team-mate Carlos Sainz qualified in eighth, so there’s a strong chance Williams can seek some justice of its own on Sunday in Bahrain.
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