McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from F1 Las Vegas GP on the grounds of excessive skid wear.
Having finished second and fourth in F1 Las Vegas GP against rival Red Bull’s Max Verstappen win, McLaren has zero points against its name after the disqualification of Norris (P2) and Piastri (P4) from the grand prix. The duo were reported to the stewards after scrutineering.
It was found that their skid wear was 9mm below the minimum as per the document for both the cars. As per Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2025 F1 technical regulations, ‘the thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be uniform when new’.
If found to be exactly 9mm, the FIA still accepts it, provided the mitigating factors is proven. However, in case of Norris, the rear skid plank was found to be 8.88mm at RHS Front and 8.93mm at RHS Rear. In case of Piastri, the LHS Front was 8.96mm, RHS Front 8.74mm and RHS Rear to be 8.90mm.
And so, the FIA had no choice but to disqualify both the cars from the results of F1 Las Vegas GP. The team argued that the proposing effect was larger in this year’s event and the shortened practice did not help. Also, the difference of miss was lower when compared to other cases, but the stewards did not feel that as valid case of reversal.
Norris had late fuel dramas in the grand prix as well, where he dropped from five seconds to Verstappen to just over 20s at the chequered flag. The Brit was asked to slow down dramatically as he had good gap to George Russell and the fighting cars of Piastri, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
It is unclear if the slow down was due to skid plank worry. The revised results see Verstappen still the winner but with Mercedes’ Russell and Antonelli on the podium in second and third. Ferrari’s Leclerc is fourth from William’s Carlos Sainz, Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in Top 8.
Both the Haas cars finds itself in points with Esteban Ocon ninth and Oliver Bearman 10th, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso missing out in 11th from Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda. In the context of the drivers’ title, Norris (390) is not just 24 points ahead of Verstappen, who is tied on points with Piastri (366).
Here’s FIA note in full: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_las_vegas_grand_prix_-_infringement_-_car_4_-_technical_non-conformity_plank_assembly.pdf
UPDATE: Andrea Stella apologised on behalf of McLaren to Norris, Piastri and everyone involved.
Here’s what the McLaren trio said –
Norris: “A frustrating end to today. We had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified. It’s frustrating to lose so many points. As a team, we’re always pushing to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn’t get that balance right today. Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar, where we’ll aim to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session.”
Piastri: “Disappointing to come away from this weekend with no points after an unfortunate disqualification due to skid wear. With how close the grid is, we’re always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn’t get it right this time. We now need to reset, refocus and push to get the best points possible in the final two rounds, both tracks that we’ve been strong at previously.”
Stella: “Following the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we were found in breach of Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations, which requires a minimum of 9mm skid thickness. Car 4 was found in breach by a maximum of 0.12mm of the rearmost skid and Car 81 by a maximum of 0.26mm of the rearmost skid. During the race, both cars experienced unexpected, high levels of porpoising not seen in the Practice sessions, which led to excessive contact with the ground.
“We are investigating the reasons for this behaviour of the car, including the effect of accidental damage sustained by both cars, which we found after the race, and that led to an increase of movement of the floor. As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed.
“We apologise to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical time in their Championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend. As a team, we also apologise to our partners and fans, whose support means so much. While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season.”
Here’s how F1 Las Vegas GP panned out
Here’s Oscar Piastri on social media gaffe
