Williams F1 drivers Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz excluded from Singapore GP qualifying

Williams F1 drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have been excluded from qualifying due to a technical infringement.

The two Williams cars failed post-qualifying FIA scrutineering checks.

It was found that the DRS flap on both cars exceeded the 85mm limit on both sides of the rear wing.

The technical regulation states: “At all points along the span, when the DRS is in the state of deployment, the two sections the rear wing profiles (as defined under Article 3.10.1) must have a minimum gap of between 9.4mm and 85mm. This will be measured with a spherical gauge.”

Unsurprisingly, both Williams cars have been disqualified and will start Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid.

Williams had endured a difficult qualifying session at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Albon and Sainz qualified 12th and 13th respectively - a disappointing result given their strong pace in practice.

Explaining the reason for their exclusion, the FIA released the following: “During post-qualifying scrutineering, the rear wing of the car was found to be non- compliant with the Technical Regulations. The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked. The DRS in the state of deployment exceeded the maximum limit of 85 mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.

“At the hearing, the Competitor admitted that, although their own measurement prior to the qualifying had shown the component to be within tolerance, the measurement subsequently conducted by the appointed FIA Officials revealed a larger gap than permitted and therefore the rear wing did not conform with the required dimension.

“The Competitor did not contest the measurement procedure, the methodology, or the accuracy of the measuring equipment used by FIA . The Competitor fully accepted the results of the FIA measurement and acknowledged that the rear wing fitted to the car did not comply with the requirements of the Technical Regulations.

“Accordingly, the standard penalty applicable to technical infringements is imposed.”

Williams headed into this weekend’s race in Singapore on the back of their first podium since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.

Sainz drove a spectacular race in Azerbaijan to finish third.

It cemented Williams’ fifth place in the constructors’ championship, which will be their highest finish since 2017.

After the stewards' decision, Williams posted: “During FIA scrutineering after Qualifying, the rear wings on both our cars failed DRS slot gap checks. As a result, Alex and Carlos have been disqualified from Qualifying for tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix. 

“This is bitterly disappointing for the team and we are urgently investigating how this happened. At no point were we seeking a performance advantage and the rear wings had passed our own checks earlier in the day, but there is only one measurement that matters and we fully accept the FIA ruling. 

“We have a car capable of scoring points here this weekend and will do everything we can to fight from the back of the grid tomorrow, and will immediately review our processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Remarkably, Williams have scored more points in 2025 than they managed between 2018 and 2024 combined.

This is despite Williams' focus being on next year, when the new technical regulations are introduced in 2026.