Haas F1 Team Faces Disqualification Threat Over Non-Compliant Rear Wings Ahead of Monaco Grand Prix

The Haas Formula 1 team is facing the possibility of exclusion from the results of the qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix due to a non-compliant element found in both rear wings of their cars. Nico Hulkenberg qualified in 12th place, while his teammate Kevin Magnussen qualified three places behind. However, their positions are now at risk of being revoked, forcing them to start from the back of the grid. This would essentially make the entire weekend a failure for the team. FIA F1 technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that during a check of the adjustable positions of the rear wing, it was discovered that the outermost areas of both cars exceeded the maximum allowed distance of 85mm. This violates Article 3.10.10 h) of the technical regulations, which pertains to the drag reduction system. Normally, a violation of the technical regulations results in the removal of the offending car from the classification. The issue has been referred to the stewards. In a similar incident three years ago, Lewis Hamilton had his result in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix removed because the DRS opening on his Mercedes exceeded 85mm when activated. Haas had introduced a new rear wing for this race in order to optimize aerodynamic pressure, which is crucial in Monaco. The team stated that the new wing pushes the limits of achievable load within the allowed rules. If they fail to make the wings compliant, they would be required to switch to a different specification. However, this would violate parc ferme regulations and require both cars to start from the pit lane. Nevertheless, even if the results of qualifying are annulled, the team’s weekend is already effectively over.