Free Practice 2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. McLaren reports a crack in a part of the MCL40, after a morning of wholesale updates: sidepods, engine cover, floor, diffuser, rear suspension. Rob Marshall, the team’s technical director, confirmed it: “In truth, it was a minor issue. We spotted a crack in a part and those tie wraps were added to mitigate that, to stop it getting any worse while we work out what to do properly,” he told Formula1.com.
At post 14, there’s always a cable tie in the folder, next to the biro and the rulebook. Never used one on a Formula 1 floor, for lack of one to hand, but on the gazebo at post 13 twice this season, and once on Jean-Luc’s chair.
The heated room said nothing about where the crack came from, only about the measure taken to contain it. At the post, that’s called a holding measure, while the proper fix is worked out. The part isn’t blamed. It’s watched.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended the first day around a second and a half off the pace. George Russell was fastest of the session. Norris gave up a quicker lap late in FP2.
Nothing further to report.
It’s true, we checked: Formula1.com.
