The Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League expressed their dissatisfaction with the peculiar incident of advertising banners being dragged onto the track during the Monaco Grand Prix, resulting in a significant loss of performance for the Formula 1 cars. Lando Norris, McLaren’s driver, was in danger of being eliminated in Q1 after being forced to abandon a late lap due to the removal of signage from the barriers getting stuck in his car. McLaren estimates that this incident caused a loss of downforce equivalent to three seconds per lap. Fortunately, Norris was able to quickly go to the pits and remove the signage from his car, allowing him to continue and secure his place in Q2 with the same set of tires.
Norris and other drivers had already raised concerns about this issue after Friday’s practice sessions, as there were cases of signage being ripped off the walls. Norris expressed his frustration, stating that such incidents should not occur in Formula 1 and could have ruined his entire weekend. He called for a better solution than just stickers to prevent this from happening in the future.
It is not clear why this problem became more prominent this year, as the FIA was aware of it during qualifying and teams and drivers had reported debris on the track. Max Verstappen even questioned why the session was not red-flagged. The damaged signage was being moved out of the racing line by passing cars or, in extreme cases, getting stuck on the cars themselves.
Charles Leclerc, who secured pole position, also had a similar incident in Q1. He had to go to the pits to remove a sponsor banner from his front wing, which significantly affected his performance. Leclerc expressed relief that there were no yellow or red flags afterwards, as that would have further disrupted his qualifying session.
Some action was taken between sessions to remove the most damaged signage, but McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was frustrated that it had not been resolved earlier, considering it had been present since the first practice session. Stella emphasized the need for a solution, as the issue had a catastrophic impact on Norris’ performance and potentially affected other drivers as well.
As a result, none of the damaged banners will be replaced for Sunday’s race, and some logos will be completely removed from specific areas. The situation will be closely monitored during the support races on Sunday, and if more problems arise, it is possible that all signage at problematic points will be removed before the grand prix.
Overall, the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League and McLaren are calling for immediate action to address the issue of advertising banners causing performance losses and potentially affecting race results.
