Albon Drops to 19th for Miami Sprint After Track Limits Penalty

Williams driver Alex Albon will start Saturday's Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint race from 19th position after stewards penalized him for exceeding track limits during Friday's Sprint Qualifying at the Miami International Autodrome.

Albon advanced from the opening SQ1 segment into SQ2 on his final flying lap, which placed him 14th overall after that phase. The lap included a breach at Turn 6, where he went beyond the white line defining the track limits. The violation was not reported to stewards until SQ2 had already begun, allowing Albon to complete the second segment before any investigation was announced.

Once SQ2 concluded, officials reviewed the incident and determined that Albon should not have progressed. They deleted his SQ1 lap time and, consequently, all times he set in SQ2. The decision relied on Article 11.7.1.a of the International Sporting Code, which grants stewards authority to resolve unusual procedural situations.

In their official statement, the stewards explained: "During SQ1, Car 23 clearly exceeded track limits in Turn 6. However, this was not reported to the Stewards until SQ2 had commenced. Car 23s time recorded on the lap where track limits were...