Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg has been disqualified from the results of the Bahrain Grand Prix after his car was found to have excessive plank wear after the chequered flag.
Hulkenberg finished the race outside of the points in 13th place. The rule breach means the Sauber driver has been removed from the results and the cars behind have been moved up one position.
The wear on the Sauber’s plank — a wood-resin strip under the car — was found to be in excess of the amount permitted by the regulations.
Plank wear is measured by the FIA as a method for preventing teams from running the cars too low in the pursuit of aerodynamic performance.
“The Stewards heard from the team representative of Car 27 (Nico Hulkenberg),” a stewards’ statement said.
“The plank assembly of Car 27 was measured and found to be 8.4mm (LHS), 8.5mm (car centerline) and 8.4mm (RHS). This is below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 e) of the Technical Regulations.
“During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that it was a genuine error by the team.”
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix for the same reason.
The latest generation of F1 cars are particularly sensitive to the issue.
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