McLaren spotted performing a ‘critical’ task in Barcelona pit lane after Monaco Grand Prix shambles

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McLaren have been seen performing a key task in the pit lane ahead of this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix following the penalties given for speeding in Monaco.

An array of time penalties for speeding in the pit lane overshadowed the Monaco Grand Prix last week. George Russell saw his chances to get any points on the streets of the Principality wane when Mercedes did not wait the five seconds for his penalty before changing his tyres.

Russell received a drive-through penalty for not serving his penalty correctly, and ultimately only managed to finish in P12 while his Mercedes teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Monaco GP. Two five-second penalties for speeding also cost Pierre Gasly a podium in P3.

Alpine have appealed Gasly’s penalty after it cost him P3 in Monaco, as they and some rival teams believe the speed trap was not set to correctly detect the in and out points. F1 made changes to the pit lane in Monaco to accommodate another garage due to Cadillac’s arrival.

Kimi Antonelli is going for his sixth straight win at the Barcelona GP. Who’s your pick for the top step of the podium?

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McLaren have measured the Barcelona pit lane after Oscar Piastri’s penalty in Monaco

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri also fell foul of the pit lane speed limiter and received a five-second penalty during the Monaco GP. The Australian was deemed to have been 0.1 km/h over the 60 km/h speed limit, which team principal Andrea Stella put down to him cutting the entry.

“We think it might come from shortcutting too much,” Stella noted after the Monaco GP, via Autosport. “I think that’s the hypothesis at the moment, so then we told Oscar to just avoid that. But initially it wasn’t understood.”

McLaren are clearly eager to avoid any repeats of the shambles that ensued with penalties for speeding in the pit lane during the Monaco GP this week at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP. F1 has renamed the race in Barcelona this season due to Madrid taking over the Spanish GP.

Thomas Maher has posted images on X of McLaren staff members measuring the pit lane at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as it has become ‘highly critical’ following the penalties issued in Monaco. McLaren even chose the analogue approach of using a measuring wheel.

McLaren chiefs would surely kick themselves if Piastri or Lando Norris were to fall foul of the pit lane speed limit during the Barcelona-Catalunya GP following the former’s penalty during the Monaco GP. Norris also retired from the Monaco GP due to an issue with his power unit.

Piastri won the Spanish GP in Barcelona last year, as well as taking pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race. But the MCL40 is unlikely to be a match for the Mercedes W17 in 2026’s Barcelona-Catalunya GP, so a penalty preventing a podium would be hugely irritating.