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Over in Las Vegas this week, Formula 1 served up a harsh reminder: rules don’t bend—not even 0.12 millimeters. Thank God they do in the courtroom, however.
At the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, McLaren’s rising stars—Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri—delivered what looked like strong finishes. But hours later, race stewards yanked both names off the leaderboard. Why?
The plank under their cars had worn down ever so slightly past the allowed limit. Norris: 0.12mm too thin. Piastri: 0.26mm too thin.
The reason? Likely a combo of porpoising (Google it), aggressive racing lines, and a bumpy Vegas street circuit. But in Formula 1, there’s no such thing as “reasonable explanation.” It’s black and white. A rule is a rule. Period. Disqualified.
Now here’s where the lawyer in me perks up—because while that might fly on the racetrack, in the courtroom, circumstances absolutely matter.
In F1: No Excuses, Just Ejection
Let’s be clear: I get it. Formula 1 is about engineering perfection. If rules aren’t enforced to the tenth of a millimeter, the entire competition slides into chaos. So when McLaren said, “We didn’t plan this, the cars just wore down more than expected,” the stewards said, “Unfortunate. But irrelevant.”
Welcome to the tyranny of the skid plank—a flat wooden board under the car that measures ground clearance. If it wears too thin, it’s assumed the team ran the car too low to the ground, gaining unfair aerodynamic advantage. That’s it. Game over. Thanks for playing.
In Law: Circumstances Are Everything
Now let’s contrast that with my world—as a criminal defense lawyer in Queens.
In criminal court, we don’t throw people out over 0.12mm violations. We look at context. What was your intent? Was it an honest mistake? Were you coerced? Misled? Under stress? Is there a track record of good behavior? In short: Did life happen? Because if it did, the justice system—at least when it’s working properly—makes space for that.
The Funny Part? Same Precision, Different Stakes
Let’s break it down. In F1, you go 0.12mm too far and you’re disqualified. In court, you’re 0.12mm from a crime, and we argue that margin. In my world, we question evidence. We weigh intent. We introduce mitigating factors. In F1, you cross a line, you’re done. Even if the bumps made you do it.
Don’t Be That Guy Arguing “The Bumps Made Me Do It”
Imagine you’re in court, facing a misdemeanor. You stand up and say: “Your Honor, I didn’t mean to shoplift those earbuds. I just… porpoised through the Best Buy checkout and couldn’t help it.” Try that line and you’ll get a polite nod… followed by a conviction.
But if you say: “I was confused. I thought I paid. Here’s my history, here’s my explanation.” Now we’re in legal strategy mode. Now we’re talking about human context—the very thing missing from F1’s rulebook.
Final Lap: From the Circuit to the Court
F1 may not care why your skid plank wore down. But in court? Your story can be everything.
Precision matters. Sure. But life happens in the grey zones. And a good criminal defense lawyer doesn’t just measure rules with a micrometer—he asks what caused the wear in the first place.
So the next time you hear someone say, “Rules are rules,” remind them that in the courtroom, it’s not just about whether you broke one—it’s about why, how, and what happened next.
And if you’re staring down your own legal version of a plank measurement… call someone who knows how to turn the full picture into your best defense.
The Law Offices of Jeffrey D. Cohen, our motto is, We Stand By You…
Call my office today, at (718) 275-5900 for a free 20-minute consultation.
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