McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, first and second in the Formula One world championship, were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix more than four hours after the conclusion of the race, their cars having been found to have breached regulations around the thickness of the skid block on the floor of the car.
The judgment puts Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the defending champion, right back into contention in the title fight, with Norris now leading by 24 points from Piastri and Verstappen, who are level on points. Piastri is second by virtue of winning more races. There are two meetings remaining of the championship, in Qatar next week and Abu Dhabi on 7 December.
Verstappen won the race in Nevada comfortably, having taken the lead from Norris through the first corner of the opening lap and driven a dominant run to take the flag, with Norris claiming second and Piastri fourth. The original results would have meant Norris extending his lead over Piastri to 30 points and being 42 points better off than Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri was also disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Photograph: Joao Filipe/DPPI/Shutterstock
However, after the race the FIA, F1’s governing body, inspected both cars and found the skid blocks to have been worn down below the acceptable limit of nine millimetres. The rule is policed and checked rigorously to ensure teams do not run the car too close to the ground for a performance advantage. McLaren were investigated and called to the stewards, and both drivers were disqualified.
Quick GuideFormula One drivers’ world championship standingsShow
1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 390 points – 7 wins
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 366 points – 7 wins
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 366 points – 6 wins
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There are almost never any mitigating circumstances to a rule considered hard and fast. Earlier this season, Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for excessive wear in China when the rearmost skid on his Ferrari was less than the 9mm minimum thickness required, as was Nico Hülkenberg in Bahrain.
The FIA stated in its decision that: “The team argued that mitigating circumstances existed in that there was additional and unexpected porpoising at this event, limited opportunity to test due to the weather on day one, and shortened practice sessions.
“The FIA argued that unfortunately there was no provision in the regulations or in precedent for any penalty other than the usual penalty (ie disqualification). The FIA noted that it strongly held the view that the breach was unintentional and that there was not a deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.”