McLaren fined €30,000 after causing Monaco virtual safety car

The FIA ruled McLaren’s taped-over clutch disengagement button delayed the recovery of Lando Norris’s car during practice

Second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix was disrupted by a virtual safety car after Lando Norris's car halted unexpectedly at the Nouvelle Chicane by the harbourside. Normally such instances could be covered quickly, but the marshals were unable to move the MCL40 promptly.

This has resulted in a remarkable €30,000 fine for the team.

Norris and a team representative were summoned to the stewards in Monaco two hours after FP2 ended because the marshals had been unable to trigger the car's mandatory clutch disengagement system, hence the delay in removing the car from the run-off area.

The breach is similar to the one which resulted in a €30,000 fine for Racing Bulls during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, when Liam Lawson's car stopped 10 minutes into the sole practice session. There the problem was that the clutch disengagement system didn't work because it was interconnected with another system on the car which had failed; in Monaco the marshals were unable to trigger the CDS because McLaren had covered the actuating button with tape.

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For this reason only €10,000 of the fine has been suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches. With Racing Bulls it was €20,000.

Norris attended the hearing with sporting director Will Courtenay and technical director Neil Houldey. FIA representatives including single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and technical delegate Jo Bauer were also present.

"The team admitted that for aerodynamic purposes, it had placed transparent tape over the button that is required to be pressed to activate the CDS," said the stewards' verdict.

"This, in the opinion of the FIA representatives and admitted by the team, completely defeated the purpose of the CDS system, which is designed to be activated quickly by a marshal wearing protective gloves. The team conceded that it was not possible to break the tape and press the button by hand without the use of a tool.

"The stewards have determined to suspend a lower amount of this penalty compared to a breach of this same regulation at the previous event, because that breach, and the subsequent penalty, should have alerted all teams to the importance of the CDS."

Marshals initially struggled to remove the stranded McLaren because the button which activated its clutch disengagement system had been taped over

Photo by: Getty Images

Article C9.3 of the F1 regulations, which McLaren was found to have breached, states: "All cars must be fitted with a means of disengaging the clutch for a minimum of fifteen minutes in the event of the car coming to rest with the engine stopped. This system must be in working order throughout the competition even if the main hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical systems on the car have failed."

The system is activated by a button which must be clearly marked, and located facing upwards on the monocoque so it can be reached and activated within five seconds by the driver or marshals. By taping over the button, McLaren was effectively gambling on it not being required.

What's significant about McLaren's fine is that by suspending a smaller portion of it, the FIA is in effect exacting a greater punishment, since the team will now have to pay €20,000 regardless whereas Racing Bulls has been relieved of €10,000. It is a clear message to the rest of the grid that important safety features such as the CDS cannot be treated in such a cavalier fashion.