Hadjar had posted the ninth quickest time in Saturday’s qualifying but the stewards announced that the Frenchman’s car failed its inspection.

They said its floor was deemed non-compliant because its dimensions exceeded by two millimetres the reference volume defined by the 2026 regulations.

Red Bull accepted the decision and “admitted a breach of the technical regulations”, the stewards specified.

“We made a mistake and we respect the stewards’ decision,” said team principal, Laurent Mekies, in a statement.

“No advantage was sought or gained from this error. We will learn from this mistake and review our procedures to understand how it happened and ensure it does not happen again,” Mekies said.

Hadjar, 21, is therefore relegated to the back of the grid in 22nd spot.

His teammate Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, starts on the front row alongside the Mercedes of pole-sitter and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli.