Alex Albon’s promising Friday in Miami took an unexpected hit after a track limits offence that was not spotted in real time cost him his original starting position for Saturday’s Sprint.
The Williams driver had appeared to qualify 14th after making it through SQ1 and then taking part in SQ2, but the FIA stewards later deleted both the offending SQ1 lap and all of his SQ2 times.
That dropped Albon to 19th on the Sprint grid, while Carlos Sainz, Arvid Lindblad, Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez all moved up one place.
The unusual chain of events began in SQ1, when Albon narrowly progressed in 16th, leaving Lawson 17th and eliminated for Racing Bulls. However, the VCARB team later identified what it believed was a Turn 6 track limits breach on Albon’s onboard footage and alerted the FIA.
By the time the incident was checked, SQ2 had already started and Albon was on track. That meant officials could not simply remove him from the session and allow Lawson to take his place, creating a procedural problem that was only resolved after qualifying.
Why Albon lost Miami Sprint grid position
The stewards confirmed that Albon had clearly exceeded track limits at Turn 6 during SQ1, but said the incident had not been reported until the next segment was already underway.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
“During SQ1, Car 23 clearly exceeded track limits in turn 6. However this was not reported to the Stewards until SQ2 had commenced,” the FIA stewards explained.
“Car 23’s time recorded on the lap that track limits were exceeded was sufficient to place it in SQ2. Hence at the time the Stewards were informed that Car 23 had left the track and that its lap should have been potentially deleted, it was already on track in SQ2.
“As this was an unusual situation, the stewards have decided to settle the matter by exercising their authority under Article 11.7.1.a of the International Sporting Code by deleting the lap time of the lap in question in SQ1. As Car 23 should not have proceeded into SQ2, all lap times from SQ2 will consequently be deleted.”
The ruling followed a precedent from Bahrain in 2025, when Nico Hulkenberg lost both his SQ2 time and his best SQ1 lap after a similar delayed track limits review.
For Lawson, the frustration was obvious. The New Zealander had reportedly returned to his car on the assumption that Albon’s lap would be deleted quickly enough to reopen a place in SQ2.
“Alex did track limits, but I think they realised too late,” Lawson said. “And because he’d already gone out on track… Honestly I can’t understand how that’s possible, but from our understanding, he’s literally done track limits and then gone through to Q2.”
Williams encouraged by upgrades
The penalty was a disappointing end to a day that had otherwise brought some encouragement for Williams. Albon had spoken positively before the summons, pointing to signs that the team’s Miami upgrade package was working.
“I think that’s progress from the team,” Albon said. “Upgrades are working. I think exploring different philosophies today. Obviously not much time to test things, being a sprint weekend, but still trying them anyway. I think we’ve learned a lot now.
“I think tonight, we’re just going to go through the day to figure out what’s good, what’s bad, and for our first go at it, I’m happy.”
Drivers had also noted that the white line at Turn 6 was difficult to see, possibly because of rubber laid down by support races. The line is expected to be repainted overnight to avoid further confusion.
For Albon, though, the damage was already done. What looked like a solid SQ2 appearance became a back row Sprint start, and a rare missed track limits call became one of the strangest post qualifying stories of the Miami weekend.
