Haas Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon has been excluded from Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying results after his car failed a post-qualifying rear wing flexibility check.
FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that the #31 car had a rear wing "mainplane tip deflection test" carried out - and showed flex above the tolerated mark of 0.5mm, later confirmed as being 0.6mm on the left side and 0.85mm on the right side.
The 0.5mm limit was previously 1mm. The FIA's efforts to curb excessive wing deflection were a massive talking point early in the season, but didn't appear to have the expected major effect on the competitive order up and down the grid.
Bauer had referred the Ocon matter to the stewards, with the team summoned, as is the usual procedure, and in the hearing Haas accepted the test had been carried out as outlined in the regulations and that "the calibration of the measuring instrument was verified and valid".
It said the issue was "a result of a problem with the production of the assembly of this specific part".
Ocon had qualified 18th but will now start last on the grid.
He'd already had a very disappointing day, complaining of a "massive braking problem" that caused excessive lock-ups.
"We've seen sometimes a bit of difficulties in braking, but today was out of this world. It was insane," he said.
"It was the same thing in FP3. I was braking 30 or 40 bar [of brake pressure] less than [team-mate] Ollie [Bearman] and still couldn't get the car stopped [because of locking up]. And was going straight, actually, into the run-off areas.
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"I think I've never gone as much off in this track as I've done this year. And the same happened in qualifying, trying to push the brakes a bit more, and just locking and missing the apex, and it's definitely costly."
An assembly issue being the source of the Ocon flex problem suggests Ollie Bearman, who crashed his Haas in Q2 and ended up classified 15th, should retain his qualifying result.
