F1 News: McLaren Complains About 'Catastrophic' Issue at Monaco Grand Prix - 'Not Up to Standards!'

Alex Harrington | May 26, 2024

May 3, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; McLaren driver Lando Norris (4) talks with the media after F1 Sprint Qualifying at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

During the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Lando Norris's McLaren suffered a significant performance loss due to advertising banners getting trapped under his car. The team's principal, Andrea Stella, called out the recurring issue and has demanded higher standards from the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Silverstone outfit hit an unexpected hurdle at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix, not due to mechanical failures but instead circuit management. McLaren's experienced driver encountered a severe setback during Q1 when his car became entangled with loose advertising banners on the track. This incident wasn't just a minor hiccup; it drastically reduced the car's downforce after getting stuck on the floor, leading to a startling three-second loss per lap, a significant disadvantage in a sport where every millisecond counts.

Andrea Stella, the team principal at McLaren, did not mince words in expressing his frustration over the incident.

"What happened in Q1 is something that should not happen. It's not up to the standards of racing circuits. The fact that the car picks up what was a few metres of advertising banners. We caught it under the car and the car lost as much downforce as equivalent to 3 seconds per lap," Stella explained. The sentiment was clear—Formula 1 circuits are expected to offer a level racing environment, and the presence of obstacles like loose banners is unacceptable.

Stella continued to highlight the chronic nature of this problem, underscoring its persistence right from the initial practice sessions.

"It shouldn't happen that the car is compromised by these kind of problems that have been there right from FP1. It's not suddenly in qualifying, we have the banners coming off. It's been there every single session, and we need to fix it because I think today it affected Lando in a pretty catastrophic way from a performance point of view," he added.

Despite the early troubles, Norris and his McLaren team showcased remarkable resilience by swiftly addressing the situation. Norris impressively managed to qualify for Q2 and eventually secured P4 in the final standings of the qualifying rounds.

"I have to praise the responsiveness of our team in assessing that," Stella said. "Despite that, we were so much under forgoing pressure with time, we had lost so much performance that we needed to pit, otherwise we would have been out anyhow."

He continued: "So what is exactly going to determine the race result tomorrow? The luck as to whether you take the banners or not, or we want this to come as an outcome of the quality of the drivers, the car, and the teams. Something needs to be done," he remarked.