Alex Albon's Williams team faced penalties in F1 Miami GP sprint qualifying after his track limits breach at Turn 6 went undetected initially. The lap that advanced him from SQ1 was deleted post-SQ2, dropping him to 19th on the grid. Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls team hoped for reinstatement but it came too late.
During SQ1 for the Miami GP sprint race, Alex Albon set a 1m30.216s lap time, placing him 16th and eliminating Liam Lawson in 17th. Albon had exceeded track limits at Turn 6, but tyre marks from support series like McLaren Trophy America, Porsche Carrera Cup, and Formula 2 delayed detection by FIA systems, an FIA spokesperson explained. Race director Rui Marques notified stewards after SQ2 began, too late to alter proceedings immediately. Lawson's team anticipated Albon's penalty might allow his return, briefly shown on the world TV feed in the Racing Bulls garage as SQ2 progressed. Stewards reviewed positioning data, video evidence, and heard from team representatives. They ruled that Car 23 (Albon) clearly exceeded limits in SQ1, but notification came after SQ2 started. Citing Article 11.7.1.a of the International Sporting Code, they deleted the offending SQ1 lap and all Albon's SQ2 times, reverting him to his prior SQ1 lap of 1m31.322s for 19th grid position. The decision echoed a 2022 Austria precedent where Sergio Perez lost SQ2 and SQ3 times for a similar late-detected breach. Red Bull's Christian Horner then argued it 'should have been dealt with before SQ3,' though stewards prioritized fairness to competitors.
