Late FIA Penalty and Disqualification Fears Haunt McLaren After United States Grand Prix
The United States Grand Prix turned into a frustrating weekend for McLaren, as both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris suffered from a combination of on-track misfortune and off-track technical caution. Despite showing flashes of pace throughout the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), McLaren’s performance ultimately fell short of expectations, and new details have emerged explaining why.
McLaren’s troubles began early in the weekend during Saturday’s sprint race. Both Piastri and Norris were eliminated on the opening lap after a collision triggered by Piastri’s contact with Nico Hülkenberg. The incident not only caused a double DNF for McLaren, but also disrupted the team’s vital data collection process ahead of Sunday’s main event. Without sprint data, the engineers were left uncertain about key parameters such as tyre wear, aerodynamic balance, and, crucially, ride height settings.
Sky Sports F1 analyst Ted Kravitz shed light on the deeper implications of this during his post-race show, Ted’s Notebook. According to Kravitz, McLaren’s inability to gather data from the sprint forced them into a cautious setup for Sunday’s race. “Because neither McLaren did the sprint race, they didn’t know how the car was going to behave with the ride height,” Kravitz explained. “They didn’t know how close they could run the car to the ground for maximum downforce without risking excessive plank wear.”
In Formula 1, every car features a mandatory wooden “legality plank” beneath the chassis, designed to ensure teams don’t run their cars too close to the ground for aerodynamic advantage. If the plank wears down beyond a specified limit, the FIA can disqualify the car — as seen earlier this season at the Chinese Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari both fell foul of the rule.
Fearing a similar outcome, McLaren reportedly adjusted their cars to run higher off the ground in Austin, sacrificing aerodynamic efficiency and grip in the process. This conservative approach, Kravitz suggested, was a deliberate move to avoid the risk of FIA intervention. “McLaren had to raise the car up and give themselves a margin,” he said. “That decision cost them performance, and that’s why they couldn’t match Red Bull and Ferrari on pace.”
The decision proved costly. While Max Verstappen swept the weekend by winning both the sprint and main race to secure the full 33 points available, Norris and Piastri could only manage second and fifth place respectively. The result widened the gap between McLaren and Red Bull in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ standings, with Verstappen now closing in on Piastri, who still leads the championship by 40 points.
Kravitz added that McLaren’s setup challenges were compounded by limited tyre data. “They didn’t know what the tyres were going to do, so they were flying blind,” he noted. In contrast, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes were able to optimize their setups, running their cars close to the ground without exceeding the FIA’s limits.
In the end, McLaren’s attempt to play it safe may have prevented a disqualification, but it also cost them valuable points in the championship fight. With the next race in Mexico fast approaching, the team will be eager to recalibrate — both literally and strategically — to return to full competitiveness and avoid a repeat of Austin’s cautious compromise.
