Oliver Rowland and Antonio Fuoco have been disqualified from first and third place in Formula 2’s final feature race of 2017 in Abu Dhabi.
Rowland took the chequered flag first, 6.6 seconds ahead of Artem Markelov.
However, Rowland was stripped of the victory after he finished the race with a skid block that was deemed to be beneath the required thickness. This gifts Markelov his fifth win of the season.
Antonio Fuoco, who finished third on the road, was also disqualified after his front-left tyre was deemed to be below the minimum pressure.
This promotes Fuoco’s team-mate Charles Leclerc into second place. The Monegasque driver originally allowed Fuoco to pass him for the final spot on the podium.
Luca Ghiotto takes the final spot on the podium, ahead of Nyck de Vries, Nicholas Latifi and the ART Grand Prix duo of Nobuharu Matsushita and Alexander Albon.
Jordan King takes eighth place, meaning he will start Sunday’s sprint race from pole position.
His MP Motorsport team-mate Sergio Sette Camara has moved up to ninth with Louis Deletraz taking the final point in 10th place.
Markelov’s victory hands Russian Time a commanding 20-point lead in the teams’ championship, with Prema second and DAMS now third, 30 adrift of the outgoing Russian Time team.
It also allows Markelov to leapfrog Rowland and all but guarantees second place in the drivers’ championship.
