Well, just when you thought the action from the Las Vegas Grand Prix was all wrapped up, Formula 1 did what it does best—it delivered an absolute bombshell. Hours after the checkered flag waved, with teams already packing up for the next race, the news broke: both McLaren cars were disqualified for a technical infringement. This wasn't just a minor penalty; it was a decision that completely reshaped the race results and, more importantly, blew the driver's championship battle wide open.
Key Highlights
- ✓ Both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
- ✓ The disqualification was due to their cars' rear skid blocks being worn beyond the 9mm limit.
- ✓ Norris's plank was found to be just 0.12mm under the limit—about the width of a human hair.
- ✓ The championship lead for Norris has been slashed to just 24 points with two races remaining.
- ✓ Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are now tied for second place in the driver's standings.
A Post-Race Twist No One Saw Coming
Picture the scene: the podium celebrations are a distant memory, the pink Cadillac made of Lego has done its job, and the paddock is in full pack-down mode. Everything has to be freighted to Doha for the next race. Suddenly, the world's media descends as word gets out that the stewards are investigating the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. It became an intense waiting game that lasted for four long hours.
The final verdict? Disqualification for both drivers. Lando, who had finished a strong second, and his teammate Oscar, who came in fourth, were stripped of their results. According to BBC F1 commentator Harry Benjamin, who was on the ground, the mood from the McLaren camp was one of resignation. There was a "shrug nature" from the people he saw—after all, what could they do? It wasn't human error, but a technicality that would have massive ramifications.
The Infringement: A Matter of Millimeters
So, what was this race-altering infringement? It all came down to the skid block, which is essentially the plank that runs underneath the car. The FIA regulations are incredibly strict here to prevent teams from running their cars too low to the ground, which generates more speed. Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations states the plank must have a minimum thickness of 9mm.
The official FIA document revealed just how fine the margins were. On Lando Norris's car, the measurements were heartbreakingly close: the right-hand side rear was 8.93mm, and the front was 8.88mm. This means the plank was just 0.12mm under the limit. To put that in perspective, that's roughly the diameter of a single human hair. A tiny, almost imperceptible amount of wear had cost them everything.
The Championship Battle is Reignited
Before this drama, Lando Norris was tightening his grip on his first world title. After the disqualification, the championship landscape looks drastically different. His lead, which would have been substantial, now sits at a precarious 24 points. And who is right behind him? His teammate Oscar Piastri and, crucially, a resurgent Max Verstappen.
Here's how the top of the standings now looks:
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 390 points
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 366 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 366 points
That's right, Piastri and Verstappen are now level on points, hunting down Norris. With two races left—the Qatar Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi finale—there are a maximum of 58 points still available. Suddenly, as Harry Benjamin noted, "Max Verstappen is suddenly back in the game." This is going to be an absolute nail-biter all the way to the end.
A New Podium and Points for Everyone Else
Of course, McLaren's loss was another team's gain. The revised results saw a major shake-up. George Russell was promoted to a brilliant second place, giving Mercedes a fantastic result. And in a superb turn of events, his teammate Kimi Antonelli, despite a five-second penalty, was elevated to third, securing a double podium for the team. What a day for them!
The good news trickled down the grid. Charles Leclerc moved up to fourth, and Lewis Hamilton, who had a downcast day originally finishing 10th, was promoted to eighth. Perhaps the biggest winners were Haas, with both Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman finishing in the points in ninth and 10th respectively. It’s a huge boost for the smaller teams when opportunities like this arise.
A Look Back at the Race That Was
It’s easy to forget that before all the post-race chaos, we had a pretty eventful Grand Prix. Norris, starting from pole, made a critical error at the very first corner. He admitted it himself, saying, "I made the mistake into Turn One. You've got to be punchy... I was just a bit too punchy. That cost me." This allowed Verstappen to dart into the lead, with Russell also capitalizing to snatch second place.
Verstappen then controlled the race beautifully, managing his tyres to perfection and cruising to what would become his sixth win of the season. Norris eventually fought his way back past Russell but couldn't close the gap to the Red Bull. "When the guy wins by 20 seconds it's because he has just done a better job and they're a bit quicker," a frustrated Norris said after the race, long before he knew his second-place finish would be taken away.
His teammate Piastri also had a tough day on track, feeling he was "barged out of the way" at the start and admitting to "too many mistakes" throughout. Meanwhile, other drivers had their own stories. Charles Leclerc felt he had one of his best personal performances of the season despite a "very disappointing" P6 finish (which later became P4). And Lewis Hamilton was particularly downbeat, calling his first year with Ferrari a "nightmare" and stating, "I'm eager for it to end."
Not the First Time, Won't Be the Last
As painful as this is for McLaren, it’s a scenario we’ve seen before in Formula 1. This isn't some kind of foul play; it's a consequence of pushing the engineering to its absolute limit. The same fate befell Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 US Grand Prix when he was at Mercedes, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was also disqualified from that same race for the identical reason.
These regulations are designed to keep the competition fair and safe, and the FIA has always been ruthless in enforcing them. It’s a harsh lesson for the McLaren duo, coming at the most pivotal part of the season. Now, all eyes turn to the final two races, where every single point will be critical in this newly reignited title fight.
Conclusion
In the end, the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be remembered less for Verstappen's dominant win and more for the shocking post-race disqualification that turned the F1 world on its head. A technicality measured by the width of a human hair has erased McLaren's hard-fought points and thrown the championship door wide open for Max Verstappen. With a high-stakes sprint weekend in Qatar up next, the season is guaranteed to go down to the wire. Formula 1, you've done it again.
