Räikkönen excluded from qualifying! He will start last!
Kimi Räikkönen has just been excluded from the qualifying session for non-compliant car according to the FIA. The Finnish driver will therefore start last tomorrow at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The FIA has just issued a press release announcing the disqualification of car number 7, Kimi Räikkönen’s.
The Finnish driver’s Lotus single-seater would not comply with article 3.17.5 of the FIA technical regulations. The E21 would thus feature an asymmetrical front floor.
The statement specifies that the driver « is excluded from the qualifying but is allowed to start the Grand Prix. »
The team of track stewards composed this weekend of Lars Osterlind, Tim Mayer, Martin Donnelly, and Khaled Bl Shalban listened to the team’s explanations but did not validate them. According to Lotus, a part of the floor broke due to contact with a kerb.
The consequences are therefore enormous for Kimi Räikkönen. Qualified 5th with hopes of a podium, he will therefore have to start last.
As a reminder, a similar mishap occurred with Romain Grosjean at the end of the qualifying session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but the stewards accepted a similar explanation from the Lotus team regarding the origin of the problem, and the Franco-Swiss driver was not penalized.
Article 3.17.5 of the 2013 technical regulations stipulates:
The hull must not move more than 5mm vertically when a load of 2000N is applied at three different points at the center and up to 100mm on each end.
Each load will be applied from top to bottom at 380mm behind the front wing, at the center, with a diameter of 50mm at the ends and 70mm in diameter at the center of the flat floor.
The floor structure must be flat and rigid and must not have any system or mechanism allowing movement during these tests.
Furthermore, the hull to be tested must not have any components in other areas that will move beyond the limits listed above. These components may include, for example:
a) joints, bearings, or any other form of articulation
b) dampers, hydraulic or any other form of related structural component
c) the axes or any component in the car design that is not linear
d) any parts that consistently or regularly exhibit deformations. »
