F1 team could be disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix sprint race as official statement released

A high-flying Formula One team may be disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race after failing to follow one strict rule.

On Friday morning, all 20 Formula One drivers competed in a qualifying session for the first sprint race of the season at the Shanghai Audi International Circuit in China.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton shocked fans as he put in the fastest lap and claimed pole position for the sprint race, finishing ahead of long-term rival Max Verstappen and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

But the session may lead to disaster for one team who could be disqualified from the sprint race as the sport's governing body have confirmed that a strict rule was disregarded.

After Alex Albon put in a potentially career-best performance to finish fifth in the Australian Grand Prix last week, all eyes were on Williams as they lined up for second race of the season this week.

However, the British team didn't quite reach the heights achieved a week ago as Albon qualified for the sprint race in ninth, while teammate Carlos Sainz finished the session in 13th.

But things could be about to get even worse for Williams, as 90 minutes after the conclusion of the sprint qualifying session, the FIA’s technical delegate Jo Bauer issued a statement confirming Williams were being referred to the stewards, following an alleged breach of the Technical Regulations.

Following the Australian Grand Prix, there has been several discussions around the issue of flexible rear wings on F1 cars, leading to a new rule being introduced meaning teams must provide the FIA with camera footage of the rear wing within an hour after the end of free practice.

And Williams is alleged to have breached this rule as they failed to provide the footage in time, meaning they could face a severe punishment ahead of the sprint race tomorrow.

Williams have impressed so far in the 2025 Formula One season. (Image: Getty)

The latest report from FIA Technical Delegate Jo Baue read: “The Atlassian Williams Racing team failed to provide the video files recorded by the wireless forward and rearward facing cameras within one hour after the end of the first free practice session, as described in the procedure “Additional Diagnostic” of the Technical Directive TD034L.

“The video files recorded by these cameras are used to monitor compliance with the first paragraph of Article 3.2.2 and furthermore as referred to in Article 3.15.16 of the 2025 Formula One Technical Regulations.

“As this is not in compliance with Article 1.6 of the 2025 Formula One Technical Regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”

A final verdict on Williams' mistake will arrive before the sprint race gets underway in the early hours of Saturday morning, with a team representative instructed to report to stewards at 08:30 local time.

Should it be decided that there has been a technical infringement, a disqualification is likely.