Seven current F1 drivers to be disqualified from an F1 race

Disqualifications in Formula 1 are rare but even the best drivers find themselves on the wrong side of the stewards from time to time.

In total, seven of the current grid have seen their result go from points to disqualification and there are plenty of different reasons behind it.

From fuel issues to lying to the stewards, here are the seven current F1 drivers to be disqualified from an F1 race:

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – 2023 United States Grand Prix –

Reason: Excessive plank wear

The most recent DQs came in Austin last season when both Charles Leclerc’s and Lewis Hamilton’s cars were found to have worn their plank away too much.

The plank is a composite material attached to the bottom of an F1 car to ensure that the cars are not running too low to the ground and to check this, the FIA measures the board for wear after a race which is where Hamilton and Leclerc came unstuck.

Both drivers were found to have worn their plank away too much, likely a result of the one practice session due to the sprint weekend, and were subsequently disqualified. It was a costly affair for both drivers with Hamilton provisionally finishing second and Leclerc in sixth.

But there was confusion as to why so few cars were tested with just four put under investigation. The other two, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, passed.

Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg – 2019 Japanese Grand Prix –

Reason: Illegal driver aids

This disqualification came long after the event with Renault being put under the spotlight by rivals Racing Point.

The Lawrence Stroll-owned team argued that a brake bias adjustment system used by Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg in Suzuka was illegal and after a meeting of the stewards on the following Wednesday, the sporting body agreed.

As a result, Ricciardo was stripped of his sixth-place finish while Hulkenberg lost out on ninth.

FIA rules state that a driver must drive the car alone and unaided and that a pre-set lap distance-dependent brake bias adjustment system goes against that. To make things spicier, it was rumoured that Racing Point’s protest was raised by an ex-Renault employee.

Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen – 2018 United States Grand Prix –

Reason: Fuel breach

Probably the most slam dunk penalty going is fuel.

Since in-race refuelling was banned in 2010, the cars must now carry enough fuel to last the whole race and can carry up to 110kg.

But to ensure that competitors do not use forbidden additives, a car must have at least 1kg of fuel left over after the race which the FIA will withdraw and test.

This was what Kevin Magnussen fell foul of in 2018 when his Haas car had consumed more than the maximum amount and his ninth place finish was erased from the history books.

Esteban Ocon’s disqualification was for something a little different as his Force India car was consuming fuel too fast.

As well as the minimum amount of fuel teams must carry, the car must also not exceed a fuel mass flow of 100kg per hour which unfortunately for the Frenchman, his car did.

His eighth was also wiped out and he later tweeted: “Pushing the whole race, getting good points, and getting disqualified in the end for a stupid reason is probably the worst feeling ever. Our mistake…”

Daniel Ricciardo – 2014 Australian Grand Prix

Reason: Fuel breach

Ricciardo’s first DQ was also fuel-related as he was found to have breached the maximum fuel limit during his home race in 2014.

Not only that but it was also decided that Red Bull had used an unauthorised method of measuring the fuel flow.

They protested the decision, claiming the sensors provided by the FIA were unreliable but their pleas fell on deaf ears and Ricciardo lost his podium.

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Sergio Perez – 2011 Australian Grand Prix –

Reason: Illegal rear wing

While driving for Sauber, both Sergio Perez and team-mate Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified after an inspection found that an element of their rear wing was against the regulations.

Sauber ultimately opted not to appeal as technical director James Key explained it was “an error in the checking process.”

Lewis Hamilton – 2009 Australian Grand Prix

Reason: Misleading the stewards

While this race was mainly known for Brawn GP’s first win, it was also notable for the disqualification of reigning champion Hamilton.

The incident came during a safety car period when the safety car came out and Jarno Trulli overtook Hamilton. The stewards decided that the Italian had overtaken under safety car conditions, illegal by the rules, and Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty, moving him down to 12th from third place.

Trulli argued that Hamilton had slowed down and moved to the side which he took as reason to overtake but to the stewards, both McLaren and Hamilton insisted this never took place.

That seemed to be that until April 2 when both McLaren and Hamilton were summoned to the stewards shortly before the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The two parties continued to argue that no such message was sent out but they were then played the audio where Hamilton was given the instruction.

The stewards declared that Hamilton and McLaren had misled them and they were stripped of their points. Trulli meanwhile was reinstated into third place.

Punishment was not done there though. Sporting director Dave Ryan was sacked by the team while McLaren were handed a suspended three-race ban, which would only be applied if a similar offence occurred within a year.

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