Gasly disqualified from qualifying at Azerbaijan Grand Prix over fuel flow breach

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly has been disqualified from the results of qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after the stewards determined that his car had breached the fuel flow limit.

Following on from a challenging trio of practice sessions, which saw him place 18th in FP1 and FP2, and 15th in FP3, Gasly displayed an improved turn of pace at the start of qualifying on Baku’s streets.

READ MORE: Leclerc beats Piastri to pole in Azerbaijan as Norris suffers shock Q1 exit

Indeed, the Frenchman ran as high as fourth in Q1, securing him safe passage to Q2, where he posted a lap time quick enough for 13th on the grid – ahead of Haas rival Nico Hulkenberg and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

However, Gasly and Alpine were summoned by the stewards shortly after the session, with an alleged breach of Article 5.2.3 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations – regarding the exceedance of the instantaneous fuel mass flow – being noted.

The panel subsequently handed out a disqualification that sends the Alpine to the back of the grid, and means Gasly joins Zhou Guanyu in being penalised this weekend – the Kick Sauber driver exceeding his allowance of power unit components.

"The Technical Delegate reported that Car 10 [Gasly] exceeded the permitted 100Kg/h fuel mass flow on the final timed lap of Q2," read the note from the stewards confirming the Alpine driver's disqualification.

"The team representatives explained that they had an unexpected short duration technical fault that raised the fuel mass flow greater than expected in a transient fashion. The cause was agreed by the FIA technical staff.

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

"That the fuel mass flow was greater than the limit at that moment was not disputed by the competitor. The competitor demonstrated to the Stewards that the technical fault resulted in a slower lap time and that no performance advantage was obtained at that moment. Thus, they argue, this should be taken into mitigation. They also noted that the great rarity of breaches of this article demonstrates that this is not part of their strategy, and that the scale of the transient simply exceeded the margin they maintain to prevent a breach."

With the usual penalty for a breach of the technical regulations a disqualification the stewards confirmed the same would be applied in this case.

It is not the first time a driver has been excluded from qualifying in 2024: Alex Albon lost out at Zandvoort due to an illegal Williams floor; and Haas pair Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen due an irregularity with Drag Reduction System in Monaco.