F1 Stewards Hit Williams With Double Singapore Qualifying Disqualification

Williams has had both cars disqualified from qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were both disappointed to fall out of the session in Q2, with the Thai-Briton ahead of his teammate in 12th and 13th.

But neither of those positions will hold after a technical breach was found in post-qualifying scrutineering.

DRS to blame

First laps complete ✅

Carlos P5
Alex P9 pic.twitter.com/aMwQSmXBiN
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) October 4, 2025

The stewards report into the investigation on Albon's car read: "During post-qualifying scrutineering, the rear wing of the car was found to be noncompliant 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."

The report into Sainz's car read identically.

Alex Albon, James Vowles, Williams — Williams Racing

In a statement released after the decision, team principal James Vowles said: "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."

It marks the second race weekend in a row where there has been a disqualification from qualifying after Haas' Esteban Ocon was thrown out at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The Frenchman's car failed a different part of scrutineering, albeit also regarding the rear wing, having been found non-compliant during the rear wing main plane tip deflection test.

Esteban Ocon, Haas — Esteban Ocon was disqualified from Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying. | Haas F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton was notably expelled from qualifying for failing the same test as the Williams duo back in 2021 at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he famously fought back from last to fifth in the sprint at Interlagos before being set back again in the race with an engine penalty.

The seven-time champion then emerged victorious after an intense battle with Max Verstappen, who would ultimately come out on top in a controversial championship battle to earn the first of four consecutive drivers' titles.

Williams' disqualification moves Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Gabriel Bortoleto, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Ocon and Pierre Gasly all up a position on the starting grid at the Marina Bay Circuit and leaves Albon and Sainz with a near-impossible task to secure points.

Meanwhile, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg and George Russell were all cleared after an investigation into the quartet allegedly failing to slow for yellow flags at the end of Q1.

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