Lewis Hamilton has been excluded from the results of Friday's qualifying session in Sao Paulo following Mercedes' breach of the technical regulations over a DRS issue.
Hamilton had set the pace in yesterday's afternoon session that set the grid order for todays sprint race. But FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer referred the Mercedes team to the stewards after Hamilton's rear wing and DRS element was found to be not in conformity with the regulations.
In Bauer's post-session check, it was noted that the gap between the two rear wing lower and upper planes exceeded the authorized maximum 85mm when DRS was open.
The same check was conducted on 13 other cars after qualifying but car #44 was the only one that was in breach of the regulations.
Hamilton and representatives from Mercedes reported to the stewards' office on Friday evening but the investigation was eventually adjourned until Saturday.
The FIA removed and impounded the W12's rear wing as the investigation was ongoing.
Mercedes attempted to plead its case with the stewards by arguing that its rear wing design had passed all of the FIA's conformity tests.
It also highlighted the fact that in Friday's test, the DRS met the 85mm maximum clearance requirement in the centre of the wing, indicating that there was not an intent to breach the regulations.
Mercedes argued that "something had gone wrong" at some point for the wing to fail the test, adding that it would have sought permission from the FIA technical department to fix the element had it realized sooner that there was an issue.
In their report, the stewards note: "The Stewards agree with the Competitor that this is something gone wrong, rather than an intentional act or design but did not find there to be mitigating circumstances.
"Further, Art 1.3.3 of the International Sporting Code states that ‘it shall be no defence to claim that no performance advantage was obtained’.
"Therefore, the Stewards order the usual penalty for technical non-compliance of Disqualification from the qualifying session."
In the wake of the FIA's ruling, Mercedes said on Twitter that it would not appeal the stewards' decision, insisting "we want to win these world championships on the racetrack".
The oversight by Mercedes and the stewards' decision is obviously a big blow to the German outfit and to Hamilton in particular who trails title rival Max Verstappen by 19 points in the championship, as it implies that the Briton will start this afternoon's sprint race at Interlagos from the back of the grid, while the Dutchman will line up on pole, with Valtteri Bottas in P2.
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