Force India's Esteban Ocon and Haas' Kevin Magnussen have both been disqualified from the US Grand Prix following fuel flow infringements.
FIA telemetry data revealed that Ocon's Mercedes-powered car had exceeded the allowed 100kg/hr fuel flow rate during the opening lap of Sunday's race.
The Frenchman finished the event 8th, but the team's representative was immediately summoned to the stewards as an investigation on the alleged breach was underway.
"What happened was that there was a spike of flow and then a trough – so if you look at it over a lap it was neutral," explained Force India team boss Otmar Szafnauer as he attempted to plead his team's case.
"If you look at it over the lap there is no infringement, but it depends how you chop up the lap. This is the first time it has happened."
Ocon did not profit from the breach insisted Szafnauer, but the argument didn't hold water to the stewards who excluded the driver from the results.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Haas' Magnussen was also under investigation for a similar infringement that led to the Dane being stripped of his ninth-place finish.
"The stewards find that the amount of fuel consumed exceeded 105 kg during the race," the ruling read.
The respective exclusions elevated Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley to 9th, a career best in F1 for the Kiwi while Sauber's Marcus Ericsson rounded off the top-ten.
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