McLaren boss Andrea Stella has revealed the full extent of the excessive plank wear that led to its shocking double DNF from the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The Woking-based squad took second place via Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri taking fourth, but both were disqualified after post-race scrutineering checks.
It transpired that the skid blocks on both MCL39s were worn down to beneath the required minimum thickness of 9mm.
The disqualification took Norris from a supreme position for the title into a more vulnerable position with Max Verstappen, who won the race, just 24 behind, and level with Piastri.
Ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, Stella gave further details of how the plank wear came about, citing a lack of anticipation that the Las Vegas Strip Circuit would counteract its low ride height in such a way.
“The specific cause that led to the situation was the unexpected occurrence of extensive porpoising, inducing large vertical oscillations of the car,” he said. “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 and based on the predictions of the car operating window in the race.
“Based on the data we had acquired in practice, we do not believe we took excessive risks in terms of ride height and we also added a safety margin for qualifying and the race, compared to practice, in terms of clearance to the ground.
“However, the safety margin was negated by the unexpected onset of the large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground.
“The porpoising condition that the car developed in the race was also a difficult one to mitigate, as even a reduction in speed – an action that, in theory, should increase clearance to the ground – was only effective in some parts of the track but in others was actually counterproductive.”
McLaren to take learnings from Vegas to avoid repeat problems
The interview with Stella, conducted in-house, also saw him asked whether he believes a recurrence of the issue will materialise in Qatar.
“The conditions we experienced last weekend and which led to the onset of porpoising and excess of grounding, compared to what was expected, are very specific to the operating window of the car in Vegas and the circuit characteristics,” he replied.
“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.
“Nevertheless, we learn from every lesson and the one in Las Vegas has been able to provide some useful information about the operating window of the car and the porpoising regime.”
Stella added: “What happened in Vegas was due to an anomaly in the behaviour of the car, rather than it being the outcome of an excessive or unreasonable chase of performance.
“Our way of acting and thinking as a team, with a strong focus on performance, has brought us to where we are today, namely winning two consecutive Constructors’ titles and having two drivers at the top of the championship with two races to go.
“We, as a Team, constantly learn from experience and we calibrate our approach all the time and we will certainly use any information gained through the situation experienced in Vegas.”
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