FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer reported the infringement to the stewards at the Chinese Grand Prix after Williams failed to observe a rule which is not often spoken about
Williams were punished by the stewards after qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race. Alex Albon had reached SQ3 and gone ninth quickest while new team-mate Carlos Sainz was 13th, but both drivers were soon at risk of having those results stripped from them.
Following the session, the FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer reported that the team had not promptly submitted the footage from the cameras mounted aboard their cars from sprint qualifying. The rules require all teams to do so within an hour of the conclusion of a session.
In an official document, Bauer wrote: “Williams 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 1 Technical Regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
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Due to the unusual nature of the infringement, it was unclear what sort of punishment the team faced if found guilty. Disqualification was a possibility but, when the ruling finally came that Williams were in breach of the rules, it became clear that the situation was not quite so serious for them.
After holding a hearing in Shanghai, the stewards decided to impose a £42,000 fine, with a further £33,500 suspended. They were allowed to keep their qualifying positions and compete in the sprint race, but failed to score any points with Albon finishing 11th and Sainz 17th.
Explaining their decision, the stewards said: “Teams are responsible for ensuring that cameras are fitted with a suitably formatted (FAT32 or exFAT format) and empty SD card at least 10 minutes prior to the start of any session during which the cameras are to be fitted. It is undisputed by the team that it failed to do so.
“The reason for the failure was apparently the team’s belief that the cameras would come fitted with SD cards supplied by the FIA. They did not check if they did. They apparently relied on an email from the FIA technical delegate to one team member that suggested that the teams could supply their own SD cards. The team claimed that they assumed that the cameras that they installed on their cars were fitted with the SD card supplied by the FIA.
“They noticed during the middle of the session that there was a red flashing light in the cameras and reported that to the technical delegate. However, they did not know what the flashing light meant and in any event, it was too late to fit the SD card(s) by then. When the absence of the SD cards was discovered after the session, the team did not report the fact of their failure to install the SD cards to the technical delegate.
“For avoidance of doubt, there was no suggestion that the wings were not in compliance with the bodywork flexibility requirements under the technical regulations. Nevertheless, given that TD034L was clear in placing the responsibility for ensuring that the cameras were fitted with the empty SD card on the team, it was equally clear that the team was not in compliance with the directions in TD034L. We therefore find that the team has infringed Article 12.1.1i of the International Sporting Code.”
