Jonas Leo
Formula 1 driver Alex Albon has voiced significant concerns regarding the inconsistency of post-race technical checks, specifically targeting the enforcement of plank wear regulations. The Williams Racing driver, while fully supportive of the technical directives themselves, argues for a shift from the current random sampling approach to a comprehensive inspection of every car on the grid after each Grand Prix. This call for heightened scrutiny comes in the wake of several high-profile disqualifications that have sent ripples through the paddock and impacted championship standings.
The debate surrounding the skid block regulations, designed to prevent teams from running their cars excessively low and exploiting ground effect aerodynamics beyond the permitted limits, has resurfaced with renewed intensity. The most recent instance saw McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stripped of their points from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Both drivers were disqualified after their MCL60s were found to have exceeded the permissible wear on the under-chassis plank, leading to a significant loss of constructor and driver championship points for the Woking-based outfit.
This incident closely followed a similar controversy earlier in the season at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. There, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc faced disqualification for identical plank wear infringements. These rulings highlighted the razor-thin margins within which Formula 1 teams operate and the severe consequences of even minor deviations from technical regulations. The integrity of the sport’s technical compliance has thus become a prominent talking point among drivers, teams, and fans alike.
Albon, a respected voice within the drivers’ fraternity, articulated his position clearly. "Yeah, I mean we could run these things to the deck if we wanted to and have no legality issues, but then we’re all finding illegal performance kind of thing," he stated, acknowledging the fine line teams walk. "I think the main thing for me is, I don’t like that it’s random. I’d almost rather have 20 cars get checked every weekend and then you’d have a kind of… in terms of fair game. But it’s that kind of random selected version of it which is a bit tricky. But yeah, I mean rules are rules."
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The plank, a mandatory wooden or composite skid block fitted to the underside of F1 cars, serves as a critical measure to control ride height and limit the extreme aerodynamic gains derived from ground effect. FIA technical regulations mandate that this plank must maintain a minimum thickness of 10mm, with a tolerance for wear of no more than 1mm across its surface, measured at designated points. Exceeding this wear limit indicates that the car has been run too low, potentially gaining an unfair aerodynamic advantage by sealing the underfloor more effectively to the track surface. This generates greater downforce, allowing for higher cornering speeds.
For teams, optimizing ride height is a constant balancing act. Running a car lower to the ground generally yields more aerodynamic performance, particularly with the current generation of ground effect cars. However, this aggressive setup increases the risk of the plank contacting the track surface more frequently and wearing down excessively, especially on circuits with bumps, undulations, or high-speed compressions. The FIA’s current practice of randomly selecting a handful of cars for detailed plank inspections after each race, typically two to four vehicles, means that teams are always gambling with their setups. They must weigh the potential performance gain against the risk of disqualification, knowing that not every car will undergo the same rigorous check.
Albon’s comments underscore the frustration stemming from this uncertainty. For a team like Williams, where every point is hard-fought and critical for their position in the Constructors’ Championship, the stakes are particularly high. Albon has been a standout performer for Williams, consistently extracting maximum performance from the FW45 and outperforming his teammate Logan Sargeant, leading him by a significant margin in the driver standings (Albon currently has 27 points, while Sargeant has 1 point). Williams finished the 2023 season in 7th place, a notable improvement, with points like those lost by McLaren or Ferrari having a tangible impact on their financial and competitive standing.
The Williams driver further elaborated on the extreme sensitivity of modern F1 machinery to track conditions. "These cars are incredible now," he explained. "We are setting ride heights down to what wind you get for the next day in the race. If you get a headwind into a main straight, it completely transforms your ride heights for the weekend. Especially on sprint weekends or weekends where we have not much running like Vegas, you have to take the safe approach and sometimes you finish on Sunday as a team, kind of kicking yourself because you have hardly any plank wear and you feel like you could have optimised the weekend more. But that’s just the way that these rule sets are this year."
This intricate dance between performance and legality is exacerbated on "sprint weekends" or new venues like Las Vegas, where limited practice sessions (Free Practice 1) leave teams with less data to fine-tune their setups. The lack of extensive running means less opportunity to gather real-world data on how ride heights will behave over a full race distance under varying fuel loads and tyre degradation. Consequently, teams might opt for a more conservative setup to ensure legality, potentially leaving performance on the table. Conversely, an aggressive setup, while offering greater speed, carries the inherent risk of exceeding plank wear limits, as demonstrated by the recent disqualifications.
From the FIA’s perspective, conducting full legality inspections on all 20 cars after every race presents substantial logistical challenges. Such checks are notoriously time-consuming, often requiring partial dismantling of the car’s floor and underbody components. In the already compressed schedule of a Grand Prix weekend, particularly immediately following a race when teams are preparing to pack up or head to the next event, a full grid inspection would demand significantly more personnel, time, and resources. Therefore, random sampling has historically been adopted as a practical compromise, aiming to deter widespread non-compliance while managing the operational constraints.
Looking ahead, Albon anticipates that the plank wear issue will likely remain a topic of discussion even under future regulations. When questioned about whether new rule sets might alleviate the marginal nature of ride heights, he responded, "It still will be a talking point, I think. I think it’s the philosophy of at least one part of the car, whether it’s the front or the rear of the car, being as low as possible generally still applies. So, it will be much less of a talking point, but it will still be there." This suggests that the fundamental aerodynamic principles driving teams to run cars as low as possible for maximum performance are unlikely to change drastically, ensuring that plank wear will continue to be a critical area of technical compliance and potential controversy.
The call for universal checks by Albon highlights a desire for absolute fairness and transparency in technical regulations. While the FIA faces practical constraints, the recurring nature of plank-related disqualifications underscores the need for ongoing dialogue and potential adjustments to ensure that the sport’s rules are enforced equitably and consistently across the entire grid. The quest for performance will always push the boundaries of legality, making robust and perceived-to-be-fair enforcement paramount for Formula 1’s sporting integrity.
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Author Profile
- Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.
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