In a dramatic shift for the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix following post-race technical inspections. While Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured a victory on the track, the exclusion of Norris from second place and Piastri from fourth has radically altered the standings.
FIA stewards ruled that the skid blocks on both McLaren MCL39 cars failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement of 9mm mandated by Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations, stripping the team of a major points haul.
The revised classification has tightened the Drivers' Championship with only two rounds remaining in the season. Lando Norris remains at the top of the standings with 390 points, but his buffer has been reduced to just 24 points ahead of his rivals.
Max Verstappen, capitalizing on the win and the disqualifications, is now level on points with Oscar Piastri at 366 points. With a total of 58 points still available across the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the disqualification prevents Norris from effectively placing one hand on the trophy this weekend.
The disqualification resulted from excessive wear on the skid block, a board composed of a glass-reinforced plastic material fitted beneath the car to ensure teams do not run their ride height too low for aerodynamic advantage. FIA technical delegates measured the wear on the McLaren skid blocks at 8.88mm and 8.93mm, both falling short of the 9mm limit.
Although McLaren representatives argued that mitigating factors such as limited practice time and unexpected porpoising on the street circuit caused the wear, stewards upheld the penalty. The FIA noted that while they viewed the breach as unintentional, the technical regulations are strictly enforced regardless of intent.
Before the stewards' late-night ruling, Verstappen had delivered a clinical performance to control the 50-lap race. Pole-sitter Norris lost the lead at the start after sliding wide at Turn 1, allowing Verstappen and Mercedes' George Russell to capitalize. Norris eventually recovered to cross the line in second but finished over 20 seconds adrift after nursing a suspected fuel issue in the final laps.
Speaking before the disqualification was announced, Verstappen highlighted his improved tire management as the key to his victory. "It worked really well... today it seemed like we had that a little bit more under control and I could push a little bit more," the reigning champion said.
While, Norris had expressed confusion regarding his car's late-race issues, stating, "The team just told me there were some problems and they were telling me to back off." The championship battle now moves to Qatar, where Norris can still clinch the title if he outscores both Verstappen and Piastri by two points over the weekend.
