McLaren: Norris and Piastri DQ in Las Vegas, Verstappen in the fight for the F1 title

LAS VEGAS – An unexpected turn shook the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with the disqualification of McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, due to illegal wear of the wood of the flat bottom of their single-seaters. This technical failure has revived the fight for the championship, pushing Max Verstappen back into the contest. The Formula 1 regulations stipulate that the thickness of the planks located under the cars must not be less than 9 mm. However, after Saturday night’s race, it was discovered that both McLarens were in violation of this rule. After being summoned by the stewards, McLaren was declared in breach, resulting in their disqualification. This unexpected turn in the battle for the 2025 title means that Verstappen, who had been overtaken by Norris in the race, now ties with Piastri with 366 points. Norris leads with a 24-point advantage over Verstappen, with two races remaining.The result leaves Lando Norris leading the championship by 24 points, while Max Verstappen ties with Oscar Piastri.The warning signs lit up at the end of Saturday’s race, when Norris was told to slow his pace in the final laps, although it was initially believed to be due to fuel issues. His distance from Verstappen was reduced from five to about 21 seconds, but he managed to hold on to second place ahead of George Russell. Piastri finally finished in fourth place, one position ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose five-second penalty relegated him to fifth place. Initially, Verstappen’s victory kept him with possibilities in the fight, 42 points away. Now, he has become a true contender for the first time this year. There are two races left to be run in the next two weeks, starting with the Qatar Grand Prix, which will include a sprint race on November 29, before the grand prix on November 30. Verstappen seeks his fifth consecutive title, while Norris and Piastri aim for their first championship. Verstappen has won four of the eight races since the F1 season resumed.Oscar Piastri finished fourth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, his best position in three editions of the race, before being disqualified.The measurement of the wood thickness in the F1 cars is done at four points. Although the stewards issued identical statements for both cars, the FIA found that Norris’s front right side measured 8.88 mm and the rear right, 8.93 mm. Piastri’s front left measured 8.96 mm, the front right, 8.74 mm and the rear right, 8.90 mm. In simple terms, McLaren’s infringement margin was the width of a hair, approximately between 0.04 and 0.12 millimeters.

The rear skates were measured again in the presence of the stewards and the three McLaren representatives, and those measurements confirmed that the skates did not comply with the regulations. The relevant measurements were even lower than those originally measured by the Technical Delegate.

Official Statement

The team argued that there were mitigating circumstances, such as unexpected porpoising, limited testing opportunity due to weather, and shorter practice sessions. The FIA, for its part, argued that there was no provision in the regulations to avoid disqualification. The stewards determined that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Technical Regulations had been breached, so the standard disqualification penalty was applied. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella addressed the disastrous result in a statement:

During the race, both cars experienced unexpected and high levels of porpoising not seen in the practice sessions, which caused excessive contact with the ground. We are investigating the reasons for this car behavior, including the effect of accidental damage suffered by both cars, which we found after the race, and which caused an increase in ground movement.

Andrea Stella

Stella added:

We apologize to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical moment in their championship campaigns after two strong performances throughout the weekend. As a team, we also apologize to our partners and fans, whose support means a lot.

Andrea Stella

Stella concluded:

While this result is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the final two races of the season.

Andrea Stella

Meanwhile, Norris expressed his frustration:

We had to manage something towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which unfortunately resulted in our disqualification. It’s frustrating to lose so many points. As a team, we are always striving to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn’t achieve that balance today. Nothing I can do will change that now, instead all the focus is on Qatar, where we will try to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session.

Lando Norris

Piastri expressed similar disappointment, adding:

With how tight the grid is, we are always looking for where we can gain performance, and this time we didn’t achieve it. Now we need to reset, refocus and push to get the best possible points in the last two rounds, on both tracks where we have been strong before.

Oscar Piastri

With 33 points at stake in the Qatar Grand Prix, Piastri and Verstappen could leave the penultimate round leading the championship. The F1 season will end with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7th.