McLaren’s Stella apologizes to drivers and the team’s fans after double DSQ

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella (pictured above) apologized to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after both drivers were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The two McLaren cars were found to have excessive plank wear at the end of the race in Las Vegas, with the FIA noting “that it strongly held the view that the breach was unintentional and that there was not deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.” With a breach of technical regulations being penalized by disqualification in most cases, Norris was excluded from second place and Piastri lost fourth.

The disqualifications mean Norris’ lead over Piastri remains at 24 points – having been originally set to grow to 30 – and Max Verstappen moves level on points with Piastri having won the race. Explaining the reasons that McLaren outlined as the potential causes of the plank wear, Stella acknowledged the impact on both drivers given the title picture.

“Following the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we were found in breach of Article 3.5.9 of the technical regulations, which requires a minimum of 9mm skid thickness,” Stella said. “Car 4 [Norris] was found in breach by a maximum of 0.12mm of the rearmost skid and Car 81 [Piastri] by a maximum of 0.26mm of the rearmost skid.

“During the race, both cars experienced unexpected, high levels of porpoising not seen in the practice sessions, which led to excessive contact with the ground. We are investigating the reasons for this behavior of the car, including the effect of accidental damage sustained by both cars, which we found after the race, and that led to an increase of movement of the floor.

“As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed.

“We apologize to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical time in their championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend. As a team, we also apologize to our partners and fans, whose support means so much.

“While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season.”

Both McLaren drivers join Lewis Hamilton (China) and Nico Hulkenberg (Bahrain) in being disqualified from races for excessive plank wear this season, while both Hamilton – then at Mercedes – and Charles Leclerc suffered the same fate at Circuit of The Americas in 2023.