Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen have both been disqualified from today's qualifying classification after the rear wings on their cars were found to be illegal.

The FIA's Technical Delegate discovered on examination that the uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions exceeded the maximum allowed under Article 3.10.10.h of the Technical Regulations of 85mm.

The team explained that this was the consequence of an inadvertent error on their part in setting the wing flap gap, the wing being a new design that was used for the first time this weekend.

The old design was set to be compliant with the regulations with the largest gap measured from the centre of the wing. However, under the new design, the largest gap was at the extremities of the wing but the team had not trained its mechanics to set the gap per the new design, resulting in the non-compliance.

The duty to comply strictly with the Technical Regulations rests at all times with the competitor, explained the Technical Delegate. The team suggested that there was no performance advantage gained by the non-compliance. However, Article 1.3.3 of the International Sporting Code makes it clear that this is irrelevant.

The team was candid in admitting its error and the wing was otherwise compliant with the regulations, with the FIA technical team confirming that they were satisfied with the explanation for the error.

However, given the admitted breach of the regulations, both drivers, who qualified 12th (Hulkenberg) and 15th (Magnussen) were disqualified from the classification.

Despite not setting times in qualifying, both drivers have been granted permission to start the race, as they had set satisfactory times in practice.

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