Gabriel Bortoleto Disqualified from the Miami Sprint

The penalty was handed down a few hours after the finish: Gabriel Bortoleto was disqualified from the Miami Grand Prix Sprint following a technical violation found on his car.

Initially ranked 11th at the end of Saturday's 100-kilometer race, Gabriel Bortoleto has had his result outright nullified. The reason: engine intake air pressure exceeding the permitted limit.

A pressure exceeding 4.8 barA

During post-race technical inspections, measurements taken on car No. 5 revealed a pressure exceeding the permitted 4.8 barA. This constitutes a direct violation of Article C5.3.2 of the FIA Technical Regulations.

The regulations are, however, unambiguous: intake air pressure must remain below this limit “at all times.” The system is strictly regulated, with FIA-approved sensors requiring the air intended for combustion to pass through specific, validated locations within the intake system.

Audi acknowledges the facts, but with no room for maneuver

When questioned by officials, the Audi team did not contest the findings. It did, however, attempt to put the incident into context, citing a one-time exceedance over a single lap, linked to an unexpected rise in temperatures.

A quick response would have brought the parameters back within the regulatory window. However, this was insufficient to avoid the penalty.

The stewards reiterated a key point of the regulations: compliance must be constant, without exception. A zero-tolerance policy that leaves little room for interpretation.

A Sprint weekend to forget for Audi

This disqualification adds to an already difficult weekend for Audi in Miami. Earlier in the day, Nico Hülkenberg was unable to even start the race, as his car caught fire during the formation laps.

Between reliability issues and a technical violation, the German manufacturer thus leaves the Sprint race without a single tangible result.