Photo Credit: F1
McLaren suffered a double disqualification at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's cars failed post-race technical inspections. The FIA confirmed that the rearmost skid blocks on both McLaren MCL39 machines were "measured and found to be below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations."
The decision came after technical delegates re-measured the rear skids in the presence of the stewards and McLaren representatives. The measurements "confirmed that the skids did not comply with the regulations," with wear levels even lower than initially recorded. While McLaren argued "mitigating circumstances existed in that there was additional and unexpected porpoising at this event, limited opportunity to test due to the weather on Day 1, and shortened practice sessions," the stewards dismissed the defence. However, they noted that "the FIA strongly held the view that the breach was unintentional and that there was not a deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations."
Norris had crossed the line in second place, while Piastri finished fourth on the road, but both lost their results following the stewards' ruling. The disqualifications reshaped the 2025 championship standings: Norris retains the lead with 390 points, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are now tied at 366 points, drastically tightening the title fight with just two Grands Prix and a sprint remaining.
Norris reflected on the race, saying, "I don't know what the issues were. The team just told me there were some problems and they were telling me to back off. So that's something I'll go and speak to them about in a bit." Piastri also noted, "I think first lap was eventful to say the least and then a couple of mistakes after that which didn't help. The team did a really good job in getting our race back on track with strategy, so that was probably the highlight of the race."
The infractions centred on the car plank, a 10mm-thick component under the car designed to control ride height. It is allowed to wear by no more than 1mm over a race distance; both McLarens exceeded this, with measurements between 1.07mm and 1.12mm. Running the car as low as possible improves aerodynamic performance, particularly in the ground-effect era, but miscalculations during disrupted practice sessions in Las Vegas contributed to the infringement.
The double DSQ also benefited other drivers. Charles Leclerc moved from P6 to P4, while Lewis Hamilton climbed from P10 to P8. Mercedes' George Russell and Antonelli also advanced in the standings. For Verstappen, the ruling reinvigorates his championship challenge, narrowing his gap to Norris and placing him back in contention as the season nears its finale.
