McLaren Confident Las Vegas DSQ Issues Won't Repeat in Qatar

McLaren is confident that the porpoising issues which led to their double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix will not reoccur in Qatar this weekend. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had their second and fourth-place finishes stripped last Sunday due to excessive skid-block wear, attributed to "unexpected extensive porpoising."

Why it matters:

This incident in Las Vegas allowed Red Bull rival Max Verstappen to close within 24 points of Norris' healthy title lead, intensifying the championship battle with only two races remaining. A repeat would be catastrophic for McLaren's drivers' championship aspirations, making their ability to prevent similar issues crucial for maintaining their title challenge.

The details:

• Unexpected Porpoising: McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated the cars suffered from an "unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising" with "large vertical oscillations" during the 50-lap Las Vegas Grand Prix.
• Counterproductive Mitigation: Attempts to mitigate the issue by having drivers "lift and coast" at the end of straights proved "counterproductive" in certain areas of the street track.
• Vegas-Specific Conditions: Stella emphasized that the conditions leading to the porpoising and excessive grounding were "very specific to the operating window of the car in Vegas and the circuit characteristics." He added that McLaren has a "well-established and consolidated way of setting up the car" for optimal performance in upcoming races.
• No Excessive Risk: Contrary to assumptions, Stella denied that McLaren pushed for excessive performance, stating the issue was an "anomaly in the behavior of the car, rather than it being the outcome of an excessive or unreasonable chase of performance."
• Driver Perspectives: Both Norris and Piastri echoed this, suggesting the issue was not due to running the car too low.
  • Norris said, "it wasn't because we were just running low. Sometimes it can be the opposite," and even suggested, "you can almost say we didn't take enough risk." He added, "In fact, we were slower because of the issues that we had, not quicker. I'm almost more excited to just get it better for this weekend because we'll have more performance."
  • Piastri noted that after limited practice time due to red flags, McLaren had actually "played it safe" with the MCL39's ride height, but "there was just things that happened that we didn't expect."

What's next:

McLaren remains focused on maximizing performance for the remaining races. Norris, with a 24-point championship lead, still has his first chance to clinch his maiden F1 title in Sunday's Grand Prix. The team is determined to learn from the Las Vegas experience and apply those lessons to ensure a stronger, more reliable performance in Qatar and beyond, as they continue to push the limits against Red Bull.