McLaren has shared a clear explanation for its Las Vegas Grand Prix double disqualification. The team confirmed that severe and unexpected porpoising caused excessive skid plate wear on both cars. Team principal Andrea Stella discussed the findings before the Qatar Grand Prix.
Both cars lost their final positions. Lando Norris fell from P2, and Oscar Piastri dropped from P4. The penalty also helped Max Verstappen. He now sits level with Piastri and only 24 points behind Norris with two rounds left.
Stella said the data raised alarms within minutes. “From the early laps of the race, it was clear from the data that the level of unexpected porpoising would be a concern,” he said. He explained that the team could monitor Norris’ car better. Piastri’s car lost a key sensor early in the race. That made the evaluation harder.
Stella said the porpoising generated intense vertical movement. That movement increased the rate of plank wear.
“We realised relatively soon that this level of porpoising was causing a high level of skid wear energy,” he said. Drivers tried to adjust their approach in several corners. Stella said most of those attempts failed to reduce the oscillations.
Stella Says McLaren Did Not Take Setup Risks
McLaren entered the race with limited practice data. Despite that, Stella said the setup included a planned safety margin.
“The specific cause that led to the situation was the unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising,” he said. Stella insisted McLaren did not chase extreme ride heights. He said the team raised the car for qualifying and the race.
“However, the safety margin was negated by the unexpected onset of the large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground.”
According to Stella, the issue behaved strangely on the Vegas layout. Reducing speed did not always help. “The porpoising condition… was also a difficult one to mitigate… in others was actually counterproductive.”
McLaren Accepts the Ruling but Requests Future Flexibility
Stella said the team checked every measurement with the FIA. “We verified together with the technical delegate, that the measurement of the skid thickness was correct,” he explained. He noted the breach was extremely small. Norris exceeded wear by 0.12 mm and Piastri by 0.26 mm. That still exceeded the 9 mm minimum.
He highlighted that the FIA found no intent to break rules. “It should also be remembered that the FIA itself emphasised that the infringement was not intentional,” Stella said.
He also said the rules lack proportional penalties. Even small and accidental breaches bring full disqualification.
Stella Confident the Issue Will Not Return
Stella said the Vegas behaviour came from a unique mix of conditions. “The conditions we experienced last weekend… are very specific to the operating window of the car in Vegas,” he said.
He added that the team gained new knowledge from the incident. “Nevertheless, we learn from every lesson…” Stella said.
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