McLaren's Formula 1 team principal, Andrea Stella, has publicly identified the precise reason behind the team's devastating double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, pointing the finger at a violent aerodynamic phenomenon known as porpoising.
The Costly Technical Breach
The dramatic post-race decision saw Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both stripped of their finishing positions and the crucial championship points that came with them. The ruling was handed down approximately four hours after the race concluded, following mandatory post-race technical inspections conducted by the FIA, the sport's governing body.
The analysis revealed an identical issue on both McLaren cars: excessive skid plank wear. The wooden plank on the underside of each car was found to have worn down beyond the legal limit, falling below the mandatory minimum thickness of 9mm. This finding was immediately referred to the race stewards, who had no option but to disqualify both drivers from the final classification.
Stella's Technical Explanation
In a detailed Q&A published on the official McLaren website, Stella provided a thorough technical breakdown of the failure. He stated that the specific cause was the unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising.
This issue, which first became prominent in the 2022 F1 season, causes cars to bounce violently up and down on straights due to a disruption of the airflow underneath the chassis.
"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," Stella explained. He emphasised that the team believed it had not taken excessive risks with the car's ride height and had even added a safety margin for the race compared to their practice settings.
However, this precautionary measure was rendered useless by the severe vertical oscillations. "The safety margin was negated by the unexpected onset of the large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground," Stella confirmed. He added that the problem was difficult to solve during the race, as even slowing down only worked on some parts of the track and was counterproductive on others.
Championship Ramifications and Future Outlook
The stewards' verdict has had an immediate and profound impact on the Drivers' Championship standings. Before the disqualification, Lando Norris held a 30-point lead over his teammate Piastri and a 42-point advantage over Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Following the DSQ, his cushion over his rivals has been slashed to a precarious 24 points, putting Verstappen within striking distance of a single race victory.
Despite the high stakes and the upcoming final Sprint race of the season in Qatar—a format that increases the risk of plank wear due to more competitive sessions—Stella is confident the problem will not be repeated. He attributes the issue to the very specific conditions of the Las Vegas circuit and the car's operating window there.
"We have a well-established and consolidated way of setting up the car and we are confident that this will lead us to an optimal plan for the coming races, starting from the Lusail International Circuit," he assured.
In light of the tightened championship, Stella also confirmed that McLaren will not alter its driver policy. "We have always said that as long as the maths does not say otherwise, we would leave it up to the two drivers to fight for their chance at the final victory, and that is how it will be in Qatar," he stated, adding that the team would fight for the double world championship with confidence in its own strength.
