McLaren team principal Andrea Stella blamed the team’s two disqualifications in Las Vegas on an unexpected porpoise that the team failed to deal with during the race, but expressed confidence that the problem would not be repeated in the final two races of the F1 season.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri initially finished second and fourth in Las Vegas, but post-race inspection revealed that the skid blocks under both cars were less than the required minimum thickness of 9mm. As a result, race winner Max Verstappen is tied for second with Piastri in the points standings, meaning Norris will go into this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix with a 24-point advantage.
“What happened in Las Vegas was not the result of an excessive or unwarranted pursuit of performance, but rather an abnormality in the behavior of the car,” Stella said.
“The specific cause that led to this situation was the unexpected occurrence of widespread porpoise that induced large vertical vibrations of the car. The level of porpoise was exacerbated by the conditions in which the car operated during the race, which was not expected based on what we saw in practice and our predictions of the car’s operating window in the race.”
“Based on the data we obtained during practice, we do not believe we took any undue risks with regard to vehicle height. We also added a safety margin in terms of ground clearance in qualifying and the race compared to practice. However, an unexpected large vertical vibration occurred that canceled out the safety margin and resulted in the car contacting the ground.”
“The porpoise conditions that the cars encountered during the race were also difficult to mitigate. Even reducing speed, which in theory should increase ground clearance, only had an effect on some parts of the track and actually had the opposite effect on others.”
“From the early laps of the race, it was clear from the data that unexpected porpoise levels were a concern. Lando’s car was able to better monitor the situation using telemetry data, while Oscar’s car lost one of the sensors used to establish ground contact level, making it more difficult to monitor the situation.”
“We realized relatively quickly that this level of porpoiseing was causing high levels of skid wear energy and this was why both drivers began taking corrective measures in various parts of the circuit. Unfortunately, due to the operating window of the cars and the characteristics of the circuit, we also found that most of these measures were not effective enough to reduce porpoiseing.”
“The conditions we experienced last weekend, which resulted in porpoises and excessive ground contact compared to expectations, were very specific to the car operating window and circuit characteristics in Las Vegas. We have an established and integrated way of setting up the car, and we are confident that this will lead to the best plan for the next race, starting at Lusail International Circuit.”
“Nonetheless, we learned from every lesson, and the lessons in Las Vegas could provide useful information about working car windows and porpoise occurrence.”
McLaren will face a bigger threat from Verstappen this weekend than if the result in Vegas had stood, but Stella insisted the team will not change its approach to the drivers’ championship while both drivers are in a mathematical battle.
“No, there is no reason (to change the approach),” Stella said. “We have always said that we will leave it to the two drivers to fight for the final chance of victory unless the math dictates otherwise, and that will be the case in Qatar.”
“Let’s not forget that if someone had told us at the beginning of the season that it would be like this with two races left, we would have signed for it! Now, with confidence and knowing our strength, we will fight for a double world championship.”
“Our actions and mindset as a performance-focused team have led us to where we are today: winning the constructors’ title for the second year in a row and with two drivers at the top of the championship with two races remaining.”
“As a team, we are always learning from experience and constantly adjusting our approach, and we will definitely use the information we learned from the situation we experienced in Las Vegas.”
