What reliability issues, curfew exemptions, and team reactions are shaping the 2026 Formula 1 season so far, including McLaren's precautionary power unit work on both MCL40 cars in Barcelona following Lando Norris's Monaco Grand Prix retirement due to a power unit failure—which l

Alpine: Chassis change for Gasly after FP1 struggles

• Suspension concern triggers overnight work. Pierre Gasly reported a suspected issue during Friday practice, and Alpine responded by switching him to the team’s spare chassis overnight.
• Curfew exemption used. The chassis change required Alpine to break curfew on Friday night, marking the team’s second permitted exemption of the season. The move was intended to address the problem that had affected Gasly’s running before qualifying and the race.

Cadillac: Third team breaking curfew at Barcelona

• Cadillac also appeared in the FIA curfew documentation alongside McLaren, with team personnel recorded as being inside the circuit during the restricted period. The FIA document records the matter as a permitted exemption rather than an immediate penalty-triggering offence.

All three teams operating without penalty

• McLaren and Alpine were both reported as using their second permitted exemptions, while Cadillac was also recorded by the FIA in the same restricted-period context. Under the reported exemption framework, these cases did not immediately trigger a formal sporting penalty.

Broader early-season reliability picture

• The wider context is a 2026 reset in which teams are bedding in brand-new cars and power units under new technical rules. F1’s Barcelona shakedown was held in private, with no independent media presence or official times, and was intended as an initial functionality check for the new machinery.
• Within that context, the Barcelona curfew cases fit a pattern of teams using restricted-period exemptions to deal with car-build, reliability, or component concerns during race weekends.