Las Vegas, Nov 23 (IANS) McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix after post-race scrutineering revealed that both MCL39 cars failed to comply with Formula 1’s technical regulations regarding minimum skid block thickness.

Following the race, FIA technical delegates found that the rearmost skid wear on both cars had fallen below the required minimum of 9mm, triggering a full stewards’ investigation. The stewards confirmed the breach, ruling both vehicles out of the final results — Norris had originally finished second, while Piastri was classified fourth.

A stewards’ document stated that the skid blocks on both cars were “measured and found to be below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.”

It added: “The rear skids were re-measured in the presence of the Stewards and the three McLaren representatives, and those measurements confirmed that the skids did not comply with the regulations. The relevant measurements were even lower than those measured originally by the Technical Delegate.”

McLaren 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 1, and shortened practice sessions.”

While the stewards rejected this defence, they acknowledged that “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”.

The disqualification drastically alters the 2025 Drivers’ Championship battle. Race winner Max Verstappen now sits level with Piastri on 366 points, while Norris remains on 390, 24 ahead, with two Grands Prix and one Sprint — 58 points in total — still to come.

Norris, who had started from pole and led early before running wide at Turn 1, dropped pace dramatically late in the race due to team instructions to conserve fuel. Speaking before his DSQ, he said:

“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 had his own chaotic run, recovering from P7 after lap-one contact with Liam Lawson and finishing fifth on the road before inheriting fourth due to Antonelli’s penalty. Before the stewards’ ruling, he said: “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.”

He added: “Got stuck behind Kimi, got close on one lap and I lost all grip when I tried to get alongside and I couldn’t get close enough again. That made life pretty tough but a bit of a feeling of more on the table.”

–IANS

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