McLaren have suffered a major disaster after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix.
The reigning Constructors’ champions have endured a tough start to the new season and regulations after Piastri crashed out on the reconnaissance lap before the Australian Grand Prix – both cars are now out of the Shanghai race. Neither Papaya car lined up on the grid with the team rushing to address the issues.
Norris’ car did not make it round to the grid after the team found an electronic issue on the car. Piastri was due to make the start but shortly before the formation lap the Aussie was wheeled back to the garage.
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The pair qualified fifth and sixth, locking out the third row of the grid, but the row remained empty at the start of the race. Norris and Piastri were later seen getting out of their cars in the garage.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albion also failed to start the race. The Williams driver suffered hydraulic issues, while Audi had a mechanical fault on the Brazilian’s car. Lance Stroll’s race was ended just 11 laps in after pulling his Aston Martin over at turn two due to a mechanical problem and bringing out the safety car.
It’s been a nightmare start to the season for the defending Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions, with McLaren set to take just 18 points from the opening two races.
The fault on Piastri’s car was found after issues impacted Norris, with the team confirming: “We also identified an issue on Oscar’s car, which means we were unable to start the car from the grid. We have now returned the car to the garage to further investigate the issue there.
“Unfortunately, we identified separate issues on both cars which prevented them from starting the Chinese GP, with Oscar’s being removed from the grid shortly before the formation lap. We will now work to identify each issue.”
F1’s youngest ever pole-setter Kimi Antonelli was overtaken by the power of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari off the line, but he was soon able to retake the lead of the race.