McLaren Breaks Curfew Again at Barcelona, Using Up Its Second Exemption in Two Races

McLaren breaks parc fermé curfew for the second race running

McLaren broke curfew for the second consecutive Friday night running, confirming after second practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix that it would use the second of its four permitted curfew exemptions to work on both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's cars.^[1]

The team carried out the work within Restricted Period Three, describing it as "precautionary work on both MCL40 race cars." ^[1]

The overnight intervention saw permissible key components replaced to help improve the robustness of the installation and integration of the power unit on both cars before the final practice session. ^[1] McLaren's approach reflects a broader concern around power-unit integration issues that have carried into 2026, and the team opted to take a proactive stance to eliminate the possibility of a repeat failure costing track time. ^[2]

A pattern of reliability trouble

The team suffered a double pre-race electrical issue in China that prevented both Norris and Piastri from starting, while Norris needed a new battery in Japan and then retired from the Monaco Grand Prix with a power unit problem. ^[3]

In Monaco, McLaren broke the 10pm curfew to "comprehensively" address the issue that caused Norris's car to grind to a halt in practice two, costing the reigning world champion crucial track time. ^[6] Following that work, the team changed the wiring harness and ESME pack (Energy Store Main Enclosure) on Norris's MCL40, with the swap falling within his permitted allocation. ^[8] His Monaco weekend still ended in retirement, with Norris parking his McLaren in the pit lane after his power unit "completely went." ^[5]

Curfew rules and what is at stake

Each team is allowed four curfew exemptions across the season, during which personnel are permitted to work on the car in hours when they would otherwise not be allowed in the paddock, without penalty. ^[2] The curfew exists to prevent personnel from burning out under the pressures of a race weekend; a fifth breach is treated as a sporting infringement, with punishments ranging from fines to grid and time penalties. ^[4]

Using up the second of four exemptions at this relatively early stage of the season carries risk, given that any breach beyond the allocation comes with a sporting penalty. ^[2]

Both cars ran in FP3 without incident

When FP3 got under way at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday morning, McLaren was among the teams to head out early to perform system checks after breaking the overnight curfew. ^[7] Both cars completed positive running in the session, with Piastri finishing P2 and Norris P4. ^[1]

:::analysis McLaren burning two of its four permitted curfew breaks within consecutive race weekends is a measurable sign of ongoing stress in the MCL40's power-unit integration. The team retains two exemptions for the remainder of the season. Should a sixth, seventh, or eighth curfew situation arise before the season ends, McLaren would have no free passes left, and each breach from that point would trigger a sporting sanction at a time when championship pressure is high. The Barcelona precautionary work being applied to both cars simultaneously, rather than reactively to a single on-track failure, also suggests the team is treating the integration concern as systemic rather than isolated to one chassis. :::

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