Esteban Ocon will start Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pitlane after being excluded from qualifying due to a technical infringement involving the rear wing of his Haas.
The FIA’s post-session checks revealed that Ocon’s car failed the strict deflection tests recently tightened for the 2025 season.
The infringement marks Haas as the first team to trip up under F1’s tightened aero-elasticity rules this season.
Rear Wing Deflection Breach
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer confirmed that Ocon’s rear wing exceeded the allowable limits under Article 3.15.17 of the technical regulations.
“A rear wing main plane tip deflection test according to TR Article 3.15.17 was carried out on car 31. The deflection figures measured on this rear wing exceeded the allowed deflection of 0.5mm. Therefore I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration,” Bauer wrote.
The stewards later confirmed that the wing deflected “0.6mm on the left side and 0.825mm on the right side,” exceeding the newly established tolerance. Haas attributed the issue to a production error.
“The team conceded that the test procedure as outlined in the regulations had been followed and explained that the discrepancy was a result of a problem with the production of the assembly of this specific part,” the stewards’ verdict read.
“The Stewards determine that the vehicle does not comply with the regulations and hence impose the usual penalty of disqualification from the qualifying classifications.”
The 2025 regulations clamp down on so-called aero-elasticity, reducing the permitted deflection from 2mm to 0.5mm under a 750Nm load, a measure aimed at preventing teams from exploiting rear-wing flex for extra downforce, a phenomenon often referred to as “mini-DRS.”
Ocon and Haas are now the first team and driver to be caught by the tightened rules, following similar enforcement on front-wing flexing at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Chaotic Day Compounded
Ocon’s sporting penalty will have limited practical impact, as he had only qualified 18th due to brake issues. The Frenchman detailed the difficulties he faced during Saturday’s session.
“We had a massive braking problem in qualifying,” Ocon reported. “I think in my lap I must have locked up three times and couldn’t get the car stopped, ran wide in most corners. Obviously, the wind didn’t make things easy, but that’s not the reason why we are out.
“We need to investigate that. It was the same thing in FP3. I was braking 30 or 40 bars less than Ollie [Bearman] and still couldn’t get the car stopped and I was going straight into the run-off areas.
“There’s much more pace in the car and it’s a day wasted, so I hope we can get some opportunities tomorrow. We’ve seen sometimes a bit of difficulties in braking, but today was out of this world. It was insane.”
With the pitlane start confirmed, Ocon faces a challenging task in Baku, but the Haas driver is hoping to recover some points in Sunday’s race – with the help of circumstances – despite the disrupted qualifying session.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying results
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