Singapore GP: Williams Racing Disqualified from Qualifying

Qualifying for the 2025 Singapore GP had seen the Atlassian Williams Racing Team finish with both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon not making it past Q2. Alex would finish in 12th and Carlos 13th.

But in post-session checks by the FIA it was announced that for both Williams cars the uppermost rear wing elements exceeded the allowed limits. The FIA confirmed the measurement: “Both cars exceeded the maximum limit of 85mm on both sides of the rear wing outer area.”

The infringement falls under article 3.10.10 g. of the technical regulations, which governs the Drag Reduction System (DRS). The rule requires that, when deployed, the gap between sections of the rear wing must remain between 9.4mm and 85mm across the span.

This would see both Williams cars disqualified from qualifying. The Williams team had conducted their own measurements on both cars prior to qualifying but these measurements were shown to be incorrect based on the FIA's own checks.

The FIA stated: “The competitor did not contest the measurement procedure, the methodology, or the accuracy of the measuring equipment used by FIA.”

Williams Team Principal James Vowles described the disqualification as a setback, emphasising that no performance advantage was sought. (Statement below)

James Vowles Team Principal:
"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."