Qualifying for the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix began with unexpected tension around the Mercedes garage. The team was placed under investigation for an apparent breach of the sporting regulations after officials believed they had not submitted the required suspension setup sheets by the stated deadline. These documents are essential for parc ferme oversight and must be lodged before any car leaves the pit lane during qualifying.
The situation surfaced shortly after Q1 began. FIA technical delegate Joe Bauer reported at 8:12 p.m. local time that Mercedes had provided no documentation for either car. This raised alarms because a late or missing submission can lead to serious penalties, including the possibility of losing qualifying results. A similar case occurred in 2016 when Williams received a reprimand for submitting a corrected sheet past the deadline for Valtteri Bottas.
Given the importance of the setup sheet in verifying each car’s configuration and ensuring compliant parc ferme conditions, the paddock waited to see whether Mercedes would receive a penalty. At face value, the incident looked like a clear procedural breach. The investigation, however, uncovered a different cause that removed responsibility from the team.
The stewards found that Mercedes had in fact sent the required email on time with the setup information attached. The message failed to reach Bauer because of an IT security issue on the FIA’s side. This prevented the email from being delivered and created the impression that Mercedes had not complied. The team presented its submission record, which confirmed that the document had been sent within the required timeframe.
After reviewing the evidence, the panel that included Vitantonio Liuzzi declared Mercedes in full compliance. No penalty was issued and the original qualifying order stood. George Russell will start from fourth on the grid after a session that was already complicated by a steering issue, while rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli will line up seventeenth following his Q1 exit.
