McLaren breach Monaco F1 curfew with "extensive" Lando Norris repairs

McLaren has confirmed it breached the Formula 1 paddock curfew in a race to complete "extensive work" to repair Lando Norris' car after it crawled to a halt in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix. 

Norris ended Friday as the 19th fastest driver, ahead of only Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, and Lance Stroll, after his McLaren shut down on the approach to the Neuvelle Chicane with a suspected electrical problem. 

McLaren had struggled for pace on Friday, with Ferrari stealing a march on pace-setters Mercedes, leaving Norris and Oscar Piastri to battle for positions at the lower end of the top six.

In a statement issued on Saturday morning, McLaren said: "Following Lando’s car stopping on track in FP2 yesterday, the team carried out extensive work ahead of FP3 this morning. 

"To investigate and address the issue comprehensively, the team elected to break curfew last night and replace the wiring harness, and also changed the ESME pack within the permitted allocation."

Norris has endured a difficult start to his title defence, finishing on the podium just once - at the Miami Grand Prix - and sitting 73 points off championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, after just five rounds. 

The 26-year-old had been sixth fastest in FP1, but lagged behind Charles Leclerc by over a second. As the chequered flag fell on the afternoon session, team-mate Piastri was in seventh place, but behind the leader by a similar margin. 

Speaking after the Friday running was concluded, McLaren chief technical officer and chief designer Rob Marshall said: “Lando's session was unfortunately cut short by an electrical fault which caused the car to shut down.

“The team is working hard to diagnose the root cause so we can ensure it doesn't happen again and make sure that the focus is on optimising everything for Qualifying."