McLaren reveals separate battery causes of double DNS in China

McLaren has revealed the findings of its internal investigation into the dramatic double non-start that struck the team at the Chinese Grand Prix, confirming that two distinct battery failures lay behind the unprecedented incident.

The reigning champions endured a chaotic race day in Shanghai when both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were unable to take the start.

Initial assessments pointed broadly to an electrical issue on the power unit, but a deeper analysis conducted with engine supplier Mercedes HPP has now clarified that the failures were unrelated in nature.

Two failures, one outcome

According to the team, Norris’ issue was rooted in a software malfunction within the battery system. The fault effectively rendered the unit unusable, with sources indicating the battery has been permanently withdrawn from his allocation pool for the season.

Piastri’s case, however, was traced to a hardware defect involving an auxiliary component linked to the battery. Unlike Norris’ situation, there is optimism that the Australian’s energy store can be salvaged once the faulty part is replaced.

At the time, team principal Andrea Stella described the situation as "quite exceptional", adding that McLaren had suffered "two terminal problems pretty much at the same time on the same component, which in this case is on the electrical side of the power unit."

While both failures manifested similarly on race day, the investigation underscores that they were triggered by entirely separate causes – one digital, one mechanical.

Championship implications and response

The consequences may linger, particularly for Norris. With one of his limited seasonal battery allocations now lost, the Briton could face tighter constraints later in the year should further issues arise.

Under current regulations, drivers are restricted to three energy store components they can use across a season.

Speaking at Suzuka on Thursday, Norris acknowledged both the frustration and the lessons drawn from the setback:

"Of course, it hurt us as a team. It certainly didn't make us look good to have two cars not starting a race. I think what hurt more is the fact it was out of our control.

“But with HPP, we've worked hard to figure things out, to understand how it happened, why it happened. And of course, we'll do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. But you live and you learn.

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“It was a tough one for all of us. None of us want to have a weekend like that and especially start a Sunday like that. So yeah, it hurt a lot. But I think at the same time, a good time for us to learn and step back and move on to this weekend."

For McLaren, the incident serves as both a rare technical anomaly and a critical stress test early in the campaign.

The team insists that lessons learned from the dual failure – despite their differing root causes – will feed directly into improved reliability safeguards as the season progresses.

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