Red Bull summoned over Hadjar's illegal floor in Miami

Red Bull has been called before the FIA stewards after Isack Hadjar's car failed a post-qualifying technical inspection at the Miami Grand Prix. The floor on his car was found to be 2mm wider than permitted by the regulations, a breach that typically results in disqualification from the session. This could see Hadjar, who qualified ninth, relegated to the back of the grid for Sunday's race.

Why it matters:

Technical infringements discovered in post-session scrutineering are treated with zero tolerance, as they undermine the principle of fair competition under identical technical rules. For Hadjar and Red Bull, a potential disqualification wipes out a strong qualifying effort and significantly compromises their race strategy, forcing a recovery drive from the rear. It also casts a shadow over the team's new upgrade package, which debuted this weekend.

The details:

• The FIA Technical Delegate, Jo Bauer, referred the matter to the stewards after targeted scrutineering on 13 cars following qualifying.
• Bauer's report stated: "The lhs and rhs floorboard were protruding 2mm out of the reference volume RV-FLOOR BOARD... this is not in compliance with Article C3.5.5 of the Formula 1 Technical Regulations."
• New Upgrade Under Scrutiny: The illegal component was part of a new floor introduced by Red Bull in Miami, one of seven updates to the car this weekend. The team's FIA submission described the update as aiming to extract more aerodynamic load while maintaining flow stability.
• Verstappen Unaffected: While Hadjar's car was fully scrutinized, teammate Max Verstappen's car was only weighed and did not undergo the same detailed floor inspection.
• Driver's Struggles: After qualifying, Hadjar had already expressed difficulties, citing drivability issues and the challenge of the low-grip, high-temperature track surface in Miami, stating he "couldn't put it all together."

What's next:

The stewards will hear the case at 7 AM local time on Sunday. Given the clear-cut nature of the technical breach, disqualification from qualifying is the expected outcome. This would send Hadjar to start the Miami Grand Prix from the back of the grid, turning his race into a damage-limitation exercise. The incident also prompts questions about the implementation and quality control of Red Bull's latest upgrades under the pressure of a race weekend.