McLaren has broken curfew at the Formula 1 Barcelona Catalunya Grand Prix for the second consecutive race, following issues for the team in Monaco.
Following its disastrous showing in Monte Carlo, where the reigning world champion retired during the race, McLaren looked more competitive during practice on Friday.
Oscar Piastri finished second in FP1, with Norris then topping FP2, in a major confidence boost for the Woking marque.
But this would be tempered on Friday evening when McLaren confirmed that it planned to break curfew to work on both drivers’ cars ahead of final practice and qualifying on Saturday.
This marks the second consecutive curfew break for McLaren, having also done this in Monaco following Norris’ on track stoppage on Friday.
The team did not reveal any details behind the need to break curfew, labelling the requirement to do this as “precautionary work”.
McLaren call curfew break “precautionary”
“McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team will today use the second of its four curfew exemptions within Restricted Period Three to carry out precautionary work on both MCL40s”, the statement read.
The team will replace permissible key components to help improve the robustness of the installation and integration of the power unit on both cars.
Parc Ferme curfew breaks are tightly controlled by the FIA, with teams permitted four across the year. This is designed to prevent personnel from burning out during the pressures of a race weekend by working too many hours.
However, should a team break this for a fifth time this is considered a sporting breach, with punishments ranging from fines to grid and time penalties.
McLaren’s need to use two of its permitted allocation will lead to a few nervous faces at Woking, as it looks to get on top of the issues hindering the MCL40.
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