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McLaren to be 'Closely Monitored' By FIA at Qatar GP After Being Accused of Cheating
I don't know what to make of this. givemesport.com IS NOT an F-centric site and the author IS NOT principally an F1 writer, and I've not seen this conjecture anywhere else. But unless this is complete crap (and I'm not convinced it isn't), it sounds rather ominous.
The FIA are set to place McLaren under increased scrutiny at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix after allegations that the team have been cheating emerged......Why McLaren Have Been Accused of Cheating
Heading into this weekend's race in Qatar, the team are to be 'closely monitored' after it was claimed that they (along with several rival constructors) had been using the illegal practice of teams using skid blocks that expand when heated. The FIA have been monitoring the issue since it was first brought to their attention by other teams at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.
First off, ALL fiberglass expands when heated. In fact, there are very few materials that don't, and those all are objects of much scientific curiosity.
Second, who says it's "illegal"? I have the 2025 TR & SR and I can't find anything in either stating that the legality of the surfboard being connected to its thermal expansion characteristics. TR 3.5.9 states the material is "free" (unregulated) provided it is homogeneous and its density is within certain limits. And that's all.
Third, how does an expanding skid block help the competitor? If it's expanded during the race it will begin grinding against the tarmac sooner and wear faster, will it not? Then when it cools and contracts while waiting for the scrutineers, it will be more likely to be less than the TR's required thickness, will it not?
So using a fiberglass that expands excessively, it would seem to me, would have exactly the opposite result from what the competitor would want. I would want a skidblock that shrank to the thickness of a potato chip from the heat of the tarmac, then expand back to full thickness when cool.
Read it if you like but the rest sounds to me like unintelligible gobbledygook.
I considered that this might have been created by AI but I can't believe any body's AI would write this poorly. But it's harder to believe a human who writes this poorly (he misspelled "porpoising") could get paid for it.
But if there's a shred of truth to it, it could be the biggest F1 scandal in years.
So if you can be bothered to read it, I'd be interested in your take.