Following the disaster for McLaren which saw both their cars disqualified from the 2025 Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, team boss Andrea Stella explained the team’s findings after investigations this week into the excessive plank wear they suffered.
The team had issued a statement apologising to the drivers hick also stated that they had experienced unexpected and excessive porpoising which affected the wear of the underfloor skid block.
McLaren failed to spot this due to interrupted running in the practice sessions, red flags and wet weather meaning the team never completed a proper dry run race simulation. Yet none of the other teams were affected, even Ferrari which has struggled all season with this issue. Join the discussion below
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“The specific cause that led to the situation was the unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising, inducing large vertical oscillations of the car,” explains team boss Stella on media day in Qatar. “The level of porpoising was exacerbated by the conditions in which the car operated during the race, and it was not anticipated based on what we had seen in Practice and based on the predictions of the car operating window in the race.”
Norris was instructed as early as lap five to “lift and coast” (LICO) in an effort to reduce the car stroking the asphalt under heavy braking. For Piastri, there were less interventions over team radio, although unlike Norris he wasn’t able to exploit the full pace of the car due to traffic.
A further reason why McLaren didn’t give their Aussie driver as many LICO instructions was explained by Stella. “From the early laps of the race, it was clear from the data that the level of unexpected porpoising would be a concern. We were able to monitor the situation better on Lando’s car using telemetry data, but it was made more difficult on Oscar’s car, after we lost one of the sensors we use to establish the level of grounding.” Join the discussion below
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McLaren boss refuses to give detailed reasoning
Stella admits the team knew early on that the excessive porpoising was an issue but gives no real explanation as to why McLaren suffered in such a way, whilst other teams did not. One theory is that the MCL39’s were run with a falter suspension profile rather than the usual rear rake which their car design philosophy requires.
One reason for this may be that in 2024, McLaren suffered excessive front tyre graining at the race along The Strip and the suspension adjustment was intended to ensure the rear wheels did more of the work.
Stella was keen to point out out that the “FIA itself emphasised that the infringement was not intentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and that there were also mitigating circumstances, as we explained to the event Stewards.”
Further, there appears some sympathy for McLaren’s plight from F1’s governing body as Stella claims: “The FIA itself has admitted that this lack of proportionality should be addressed in the future to ensure that minor and accidental technical infringements, with minimal or no performance benefits, do not lead to disproportionate consequences.”
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Stella stubbornly refuses to be conservative in Qatar
Of course for 2026 the ground effect floors will disappear and along with them the porpoising phenomena which first raised its head in 2022. Yet even with the disaster of vegas behind then, McLaren are doubling down on how they go racing insisting they won’t change a thing.
Following a similar fate in China, Ferrari have been forced to adopt a different way of setting their car up to go racing. They now run more conservative ride heights in an effort to prevent a repeat of Lewis Hamilton’s disqualifying for excessive plank wear in Shanghai.
Yet Stella stubbornly insists Vegas does not change a thing and the team will not be adopting a more cautious approach. “What happened in Las Vegas won’t change our approach to this weekend. The mindset that brought us two contractor titles stays the same. Push to the limit and maximise our potential,” said the Italian.
Yet whilst the Losail circuit is very different to Sin City, there are demons lurking ahead for McLaren. The Qatar Grand Prix has proven a nightmare for teams in the past with its highly abrasive surface and incredible speeds testing the life of the rubber and the suspension with extremely high loads. To make matters worse, Pirelli and the FIA are mandating no tyre can be used for more than 25 this weekend.
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This means the race will be a two stop flat out push from lights out to the chequered flag. The braking will be tested to the limit and pushing the ride height to the limit as McLaren suggest they will do, could prove a dangerous move.
Of course there will be no rain in Qatar and despite just one practice session, the team will be able to monitor their plank wear during the Sprint race on Saturday morning. Then the car setup can be altered accordingly before Grand Prix qualifying takes place on Saturday.
The FIA has reportedly issued an official plank wear warning to the teams ahead of the weekend in Qatar, with an official from the governing body stating they will closely monitor the ride height and sparking behaviour of the underfloor planks.
Stella too refused to bow to calls to ditch the papaya rules and back Lando Norris who no sits 24 points ahead of his team mate and Max Verstappen. If Norris were to score two more points than either of his rivals, then he will be crowned world champion before the F1 circus arrives for the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Aston Martin CEO role for Horner?
As the Formula One teams prepare for the Qatar Grand Prix, Aston Martin made a huge announcement which stunned the paddock. Andy Cowell who was promoted to the role of team principal and CEO for the 2025 season would be replaced by Adrian Newey next year.
Rumours of Cowell getting the sack gathered pace in Las Vegas given his protest at Adrian Newey’s dismissal of a number of staff from the team’s design department. This raised the elephant in the room as to who was actually in charge of the F1 team with Cowell believing his authority had been undermined.
Andy Cowell who is credited as the brains behind the all conquering Mercedes 2014 V6 hybrid power unit will be redeployed at Aston Martin to oversea the integration of the Honda power units along with other partnerships the team maintains…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
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