Gabriel Bortoleto has been disqualified from the Sprint race at the Miami Grand Prix. The Brazilian had finished Saturday's short form race in 11th place, but technical checks on his Audi carried out after the conclusion of the Sprint revealed a rule infringement which was immediately reported to the stewards.
The FIA's technical delegate Jo Bauer said: "After the Sprint, the engine intake air pressure of car number five [Bortoleto] was checked. The pressure exceeded the maximum limit of 4.8 barA. As this is not in compliance with Article C5.3.2 of the Formula 1 technical regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration."
Technical infringements almost always result in a driver being disqualified from the session, so Bortoleto and Audi would have known what was coming. And it was soon confirmed that he had been disqualified from the results classification, though it has had no effect on the points handed out as Bortoleto was three places below the points-paying positions.
A more consequential punishment, though, had already been given to Kimi Antonelli. The teenager had finished fourth on track, having apparently successfully defended that plce against his team-mate George Russell. However, minutes after the conclusion of the Sprint, it was confirmed that he had exceeded track limits on one occasion too many.
Antonelli was handed a final warning early in the Sprint having gone over the white line on three separate occasions. And he did so for a fourth time towards the end of the Sprint, resulting in an automatic five second time penalty which dropped him from fourth to sixth, 0.1 seconds behind Max Verstappen and, crucially, two places below Russell who has slightly closed the gap between them in the championship as a result.
The Brit will be pleased with that, given he does not like this Miami circuit at all. The Mercedes driver said after the Sprint: "It's a track I've never really liked in terms of how you have to drive the cars. It's one I struggle at - it's definitely one my team-mate excels at. Sometimes you have to accept that's the case and maximise the points. I don't think I could have achieved more than the result I got today."
Antonelli had qualified second, behind only Lando Norris who went on to win the Sprint from pole. The 19-year-old's chances of challenging the McLaren man faded immediately after a slow launch off the line which, this time, he felt was not his fault.
Antonelli said: "The start procedure was all good, so we need to check what happened. The drop was good on my side. For once, I did everything right so it was a shame again to have a really bad start. It compromised the race. We're struggling a little bit this weekend, but the pace was not too bad at the end. It was difficult out there."
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