Disqualification in Las Vegas: McLaren Loses Key Points
In an unexpected turn of events during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, both Lando Norris’s car and that of his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, were disqualified from the race, just three hours after crossing the finish line. The main reason for this decision was the excessive wear of the plank, a piece of composite material located on the underside of the Formula 1 car. This wear exceeded the limits allowed by the regulations, forcing the stewards to take the disqualification measure. In Norris’s car, the wear exceeded the limit by 0.12 millimeters, while in Piastri’s it was 0.26 millimeters. To put it in perspective, the thickness of an average human hair ranges from 0.17 to 0.181 millimeters. This situation could have significantly influenced the fight for the championship, demonstrating the importance of every detail in Formula 1. The confirmation of the disqualifications, issued by the stewards on Sunday morning, reduced the 30-point lead that Norris thought he had over Piastri and the 42-point lead over Verstappen, to a difference of 24 points before next week’s Qatar Grand Prix.Why were the cars disqualified?
The FIA’s statements made it clear that the stewards considered the infringement unintentional and that there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations. However, as far as the measurement of the plank wear is concerned, the technical regulations do not allow for margin of error, even if measured in micrometers. The plank material is designed to wear down during the race by rubbing against the track surface, partially protecting the underside of the car and allowing the FIA to guarantee a minimum ride height. Running the car close to the ground can generate greater aerodynamic performance, but doing so too low increases the risk of downforce loss. To ensure safety, post-race FIA checks monitor the plank wear of all the scoring cars. The governing body’s inspectors measure four holes in the plank that must be 10 millimeters deep (plus or minus 0.2) at the start of the race and no less than 9 at the end. On Norris’s car, the depth of two of the four measuring holes was less than 9, and on Piastri’s car, the depth was less than 9 in three of the four holes. In this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for the same infringement, although with a wear of the plank that exceeded the permitted amount by 0.5 millimeters.Why was McLaren running their car so low?
The latest generation F1 cars are very sensitive to ride height. The lower the car, the more it seals and energizes the airflow passing underneath. The rapidly moving air between the car’s floor and the track surface creates low pressure, which essentially sucks the car to the track, providing a large amount of the downforce that allows an F1 car to take corners at astonishing speeds.Every race weekend, teams seek the perfect ride height to find the balance between maximizing aerodynamic performance from the floor and ensuring that plank wear stays within legal limits. Although simulations provide a starting point for ride height setup, teams rely on track testing during practice to make a final decision before setting the car’s final configuration before qualifying.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella added in a statement:“The team argued that there were mitigating circumstances, as there were additional and unexpected bounces in this event, a limited opportunity to test due to the weather on day 1 and shortened practice sessions.”
Statement from the commissioners
“As noted by the FIA, the infringement was not intentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and there were also mitigating circumstances.” There were signs that McLaren was aware of the problem during the race, as Norris’ race engineer told him to lift off the throttle and coast at the end of the straights. By doing so, McLaren hoped that Norris would reduce the maximum aerodynamic load at the end of the straights and minimize floor wear when running closer to the ground. Despite running more than 3.5 seconds off the pace at times, ultimately, Norris’ efforts were not enough.“During the race, both cars experienced unexpected and high levels of bouncing not seen in the practice sessions, which led to excessive ground contact. We are investigating the reasons for this car behavior, including the effect of accidental damage suffered by both cars, which we found after the race, and which caused an increase in ground movement.
Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal
“We had to do some management towards the end of the race and now we know that was due to some issues on our car, which unfortunately have resulted in us being disqualified,” Norris said in a statement issued by McLaren. “It’s frustrating to lose so many points. As a team, we are always striving to find the most performance possible, and it’s clear that we didn’t achieve that balance today.”
Lando Norris
McLaren apologizes to its drivers.
Although Norris now enters the last two races of the season with a smaller points advantage than he expected, he remains the clear favorite for the title. He has a 24-point difference over his two closest rivals, and if he can increase it to 26 or more at the end of next week’s Qatar Grand Prix, it will guarantee that he is crowned champion right there.
Meanwhile, Piastri, who has had performance issues in recent races, saw his disadvantage with his teammate reduced as a result of the disqualification. It may not be enough to overcome his loss of form, but it gives him more opportunities than he would have had if both McLarens had been declared legal.
Verstappen is undoubtedly the biggest winner, as it seemed he was going to be eliminated from the fight for the title in Qatar if the initial result of the McLarens was maintained. Now, finishing ahead of Norris and Piastri in the sprint race and in next week’s grand prix will ensure that he remains in contention until the final round in Abu Dhabi.
