McLaren Calls for Proportional Penalties After Las Vegas Disqualification

Short Excerpt: Andrea Stella highlights how McLaren’s Las Vegas plank-wear disqualification shows the need for less severe sanctions on minor technical infringements with no performance gain.

McLaren Seeks Fairer Technical Penalties Post-Las Vegas

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has called for a review of Formula 1’s technical penalty system, arguing that disqualifications for marginal infringements create “disproportionate consequences.” Both McLaren cars were excluded from the Las Vegas Grand Prix results after post-race checks revealed excessive skid-block wear beyond the 9 mm minimum, despite the breach being only 0.12–0.26 mm over the limit.

“A 0.2 mm over-wear deleting an entire race result is disproportionate. We need a scale: time penalties for minor breaches, DQ only when performance or safety is clearly compromised.”

Cause of the Double Disqualification

The issue stemmed from unexpected porpoising on both MCL39 cars during the race, causing large vertical oscillations and accelerated plank wear, exacerbated by Las Vegas’ abrasive street surface. McLaren identified this as an anomaly rather than deliberate performance chasing, with limited dry practice time preventing full prediction of the behaviour. Attempts to mitigate by instructing drivers to “lift and coast” at straights proved counter-productive in some track sections.

FIA’s Response and Rule-Change Discussions

Stella revealed the FIA is now investigating proportional penalties for technical breaches, scaling sanctions based on infringement severity and any performance benefit. The governing body acknowledged McLaren’s lack of intent and unusual track conditions as mitigating factors, distinguishing accidental violations from exploitative ones. This could lead to alternatives such as time penalties for minor cases, avoiding full disqualifications that nullify race results.

Impact on 2025 Title Fight

The disqualifications stripped Lando Norris of second place and Oscar Piastri of fourth, keeping Norris’ championship lead at 24 points over both Piastri and Max Verstappen instead of extending it significantly. McLaren apologized to its drivers and fans, confirming the set-up was not overly aggressive and expressing confidence in preventing recurrence in Qatar. The team views the incident as a learning opportunity amid the tight three-way title battle heading into the final two rounds.

Broader Implications for F1 Regulations

Stella emphasized that unlike sporting or financial penalties, technical rules currently lack proportionality, potentially harming the sport’s fairness. With the FIA open to reforms, this could reshape how minor compliance issues are handled, balancing strict enforcement with context-specific outcomes. McLaren remains focused on the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix while supporting regulatory evolution.

“Technical regs should be as nuanced as sporting ones. We’re happy to help the FIA draft a fairer framework—one that protects safety without nullifying races for hundredths of a millimetre.”