McLaren faced a £1,000 fine after a rare incident occurred during the final practice session of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The mishap involved a mechanic retrieving a fan from the rear of Lando Norris’ MCL60 just after the session had commenced.
As Norris made his way to the end of the pit lane in his MCL60, he received an order to stop the car.
This directive prompted a mechanic to hurriedly retrieve the fan over the exhaust, despite crossing the pit exit line—an action that violates the rules when the circuit is live.
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In response to the incident, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown characterised the situation as a “mishap.”
While the incident triggered a stewards’ investigation, the team received only a nominal fine.
The stewards’ report shed light on the sequence of events.
According to the report, Car 4 (Norris) was released by the team with a fitting from the garage still attached to the rear of the vehicle.
However, the driver was instructed to stop the car while it was still in the pit lane.
Norris promptly halted the car at the first safe location, just beyond the pit exit line.
The stewards acknowledged that Norris had been prevented from stopping earlier due to photographers standing in the working area past the final team location.
They concluded that releasing the car with a loose part attached to the rear was an incorrect decision.
However, the swift action taken by the team to stop the car in the pit lane helped mitigate the potential safety risk, leading the stewards to issue a warning instead of imposing a harsher penalty.
In order to retrieve the loose part, a mechanic was dispatched to the track.
In the process, the mechanic crossed the pit exit line and made contact with the stationary car, technically venturing onto the track.
Subsequently, the mechanic moved to the front of the car and prevented the driver from proceeding until it was deemed safe to do so.
The stewards emphasised that this section of the track at Silverstone was entirely safe, and the mechanic’s actions did not compromise the safety of other competitors.
However, both the team and the mechanic failed to seek permission from race control or the marshal present on the scene, violating regulations.
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The stewards acknowledged that such incidents are rare in Formula 1.
Taking into account the circumstances, they issued a €1,000 fine.
In their deliberation, the stewards considered that the car was unable to stop before the line and deemed the mechanic’s actions, although a clear breach of regulations, safe throughout the process.