McLaren apologises to its F1 drivers for Las Vegas DSQ
McLaren has explained why it has fallen foul of plank wear rules in Las Vegas and has apologised to its drivers
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
McLaren has apologised to its drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for its costly double disqualification at Formula 1's Las Vegas Grand Prix, as it explained what went wrong.
Norris and Piastri finished second and fifth respectively on the streets of Las Vegas, before both drivers were thrown out of the results for excessive plank wear.
McLaren exhaustively attempted to argue to the stewards that there were mitigating circumstances for it falling foul of F1's technical regulations, but after a long hearing both Norris and Piastri lost their points finish.
According to team principal Andrea Stella, the infraction is the result of both of the team's cars suffering from excessive, unforeseen bouncing during the race, which the team will investigate. Both cars also suffered damage as a result.
“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," Stella said in the team's post-race press release.
"We are investigating the reasons for this behaviour 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.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Jeff Speer / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed."
Stella apologised to his drivers for the loss of points as they try to see off Max Verstappen in the championship. Verstappen, who triumphed in Las Vegas, now trails Norris by 24 points heading into Qatar and Abu Dhabi and has drawn level with Piastri.
“We apologise 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 apologise 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.”
Norris said he was keen to switch focus to Qatar after a "frustrating" loss of points: "As a team, we’re always pushing to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn’t get that balance right today. Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar, where we'll aim to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session."
Piastri added: "Disappointing to come away from this weekend with no points after an unfortunate disqualification due to skid wear. With how close the grid is, we’re always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn’t get it right this time. We now need to reset, refocus and push to get the best points possible in the final two rounds, both tracks that we've been strong at previously."
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