Plank wear has become an issue yet again at the Bahrain GP with a Formula 1 driver disqualification for the second weekend in a row.
This weekend, Nico Hulkenberg has found himself disqualified after his Sauber showed excess plank wear during the fourth Grand Prix of 2025.
This time, it was the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg that displayed wear during a post-race investigation by stewards at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The FIA Technical Delegate referred the matter to stewards after finding that the rearmost skid plank measured 8.4 mm on the lefthand side, 8.5 mm on its center, and 8.4 mm on the lefthand side.
More reaction from the Bahrain Grand Prix:
👉 Russell explains cause of Bahrain DRS issue which triggered FIA investigation
👉 ‘Everything went wrong’ for Max Verstappen with Bahrain GP woes analysed
Keen F1 fans will know that this is not the first skid plank concern of the F1 2025 season, with the Chinese GP being particularly brutal on one driver.
Lewis Hamilton suffered a disqualification after that race weekend when his SF-25 displayed excessive plank wear.
Car No. 44 was 8.6 mm thick on the left-hand side, 8.5 mm thick on the center, and 8.5 mm thick on the right-hand side. With Hulkenberg showing wear in excess of Hamilton’s, a disqualification was really the only way to proceed.
“During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly,” the FIA ruling document read.
“The team also acknowledged that it was a genuine error by the team.”
Hulkenberg crossed the line in Bahrain in 14th position after another challenging race for Sauber. As he scored no points, his disqualification will not impact his championship total.
