FIA act after McLaren failure at F1 Qatar Grand Prix

zak brown, mclaren, fia — Photo: © IMAGO

Qatar Grand Prix

FIA act after McLaren failure at Qatar Grand Prix

Both McLaren drivers are currently fighting for the drivers' title

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Saturday 29 November 2025 08:35

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McLaren have avoided punishment for a situation at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix, which saw them apply for (and receive) an exemption from the FIA's technical delegate.

Teams are required to put their cars on display before the weekend's on-track action begins, but McLaren were unable to show off their papaya machines as they worked on the cars.

The issue required some testing on Lando Norris' car, which was characterised by the team as 'nothing to worry about'.

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One of the two cars did eventually make it out for the display window, and Friday's early running showed that there's no serious issue with either – with Oscar Piastri and Norris going first and second in FP1.

McLaren give Norris' car extra once-over

Explaining the situation on Sky Sports, pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz said: “They did not put a car out for the team display. Now, that is a requirement from the FIA. Before free practice one, you have a session where the teams are required to put a car out to a car display procedure, they call it.

“But McLaren had some issues with both of their cars, and they got an exemption from the FIA technical delegate, Jo Bauer, to actually delay putting a car out. They did get one out eventually.

”They've been doing some non destructive testing of all the surfaces on Lando Norris's car. I'm yet to get to the bottom of why they've had this morning to change various surfaces on Lando Norris's car.

Kravitz received a missive from the team later in the session, explaining: “It was an operation issue that required further checks, not something to be alarmed about.”

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F1 McLaren FIA Qatar Grand Prix