McLaren's Stella advocates for a review of the floor disqualification rule.

McLaren's Stella advocates for a review of the floor disqualification rule.

      He has urged the FIA to contemplate proportionality.

      McLaren has arrived in Qatar still grappling with the repercussions of its double disqualification in Las Vegas, with team principal Andrea Stella indicating that the FIA is already looking into whether the floor-wear regulation requires modification.

      Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who faced an identical plank-wear disqualification in China, has openly supported McLaren’s stance that the regulation can penalize teams for minor, unpredictable variations.

      "It's a tricky regulation," Leclerc remarked in Qatar. "I'm sure no team goes onto the track with the intention of having an illegal car. It takes very little—perhaps just a gust of wind—to alter everything, and it's incredibly hard to foresee all possible scenarios. These are points that will need discussion."

      Stella made it clear that McLaren has asked the FIA to contemplate proportionality. "Minor and accidental technical violations with negligible deviations that do not provide any performance gain should not result in such disproportionate penalties," he stated.

      The Italian emphasized that the team is not worried about encountering a similar situation this weekend. "We have an established method for car setup and are confident that we can create an optimal strategy for the upcoming races, starting with Qatar," he noted. "The incident in Las Vegas arose from an anomaly in the car's handling characteristics due to the specific track layout, not from an excessive or unreasonable quest for maximum performance."

      However, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli completely disagrees. "That’s just how it is," he stated. "With these cars, the lower you set them, the more time you gain per lap. So naturally, you must establish a limit, and if you exceed that limit, you gain an advantage, which is why penalties are applied.

      "Sometimes there are external factors, and that’s just unfortunate, but the rule is the rule. It is what it is. I believe next year we won't face as many issues with the new regulation."

      The FIA is anticipated to discuss this matter with teams in the forthcoming Technical Advisory Committee meetings.

McLaren's Stella advocates for a review of the floor disqualification rule.

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McLaren's Stella advocates for a review of the floor disqualification rule.

Formula 1 | McLaren has reached Qatar while still contending with the repercussions of its double disqualification in Las Vegas, as team principal Andrea Stella disclosed (…)