Red Bull driver suffers costly disqualification after technical regulation breach

Tsolov started the feature race from pole position and delivered a commanding performance to take the win, giving his title hopes a big boost.

But after the race, things took a dramatic turn during the technical checks: the skid block under his Campos car failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement. While the FIA mandates a minimum of 4 millimetres, Tsolov's plank measured just 3.7, leading to an automatic disqualification.

Campos argued that the skid block was within the regulations before the race and that the discrepancy was due to wear during the event. They highlighted that part of the plank had broken off on the side where the excessive wear was detected, possibly causing it to sit lower and wear more quickly.

The stewards, however, didn’t buy the explanation. They noted that running over kerbs is part of normal racing, and wear is explicitly accounted for in the rules. Regulations require the plank to start at 4.5 millimetres, with a 0.5-millimetre allowance for wear — anything below 4.0 means exclusion, no matter the reason.

The FIA also underlined that it’s the team’s responsibility to make sure the car complies with the rules at all times. As a result of the disqualification, Tsolov drops to third in the championship standings, now 28 points behind leader Rafael Câmara from Ferrari.

Tsolov expressed his disappointment with the disqualification: “Racing is about pushing the limits, and that's why we love this sport. Unfortunately, today we just went slightly over that limit with the skid block, resulting in our victory being taken away. It's a minor setback, but all is not lost. We've shown our dominance and there are incredibly many positive points.”