Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
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Updated 14s ago
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix, a huge boost to the title hopes of Max Verstappen, who won the race.
Norris finished the race second and Piastri finished fourth but both were disqualified more than four hours later after their McLarens were found to have excessively worn down the skid planks on the underside of their cars.
Norris was set to lead Piastri in the drivers’ standings by 30 points and Verstappen by 42 points, but instead he leaves Vegas leading each by 24 points.
There are just two races (and a sprint race) left in the 2025 F1 season, which translates to a maximum of 58 points on offer.
Share your reaction with us at live@theathletic.com.
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Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP, rattling the F1 championship
Here's what the FIA ruling document has to say about the arguments McLaren made in its attempt to avoid disqualification, and about the responses the FIA and the stewards gave to those arguments.
"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 Thursday, and shortened practice sessions. Further, the team submitted that the degree of the breach was lower than prior breaches of this regulation in 2025.
"The FIA argued that unfortunately there was no provision in the regulations or in precedent for any penalty other than the usual penalty of disqualification. The FIA noted that it strongly held the view that the breach was unintentional and that there was not deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.
"The stewards also note the various decisions of the FIA International Court of Appeal which limit the ability to avoid disqualification for technical breaches.
"Notwithstanding the submission by the team that there was potentially accidental damage that may have led to movement of the floor which could have caused additional wear, the stewards do not consider this sufficient to mitigate the penalty."
Kimi Antonelli is promoted to the podium despite finishing the race with a five-second time penalty.
DSQ: Norris, Piastri
DNF: Albon, Bortoleto, Stroll
Here's how the drivers' championship standings look now that both McLaren drivers have been disqualified from tonight's race:
Piastri holds the tiebreaker over Verstappen by virtue of having won seven races this season compared to six for the Red Bull driver.
And here's how the drivers' standings were set to look based on tonight's original results:
Norris' lead over second place only falls from 30 points to 24. Meanwhile, Piastri's lead over Verstappen drops from 12 to zero.
Verstappen is obviously the big winner here, seeing his deficit to Norris decrease from 42 to 24.
The skid plank width required is 9mm. The measurements on both cars were 8.88mm on the right-hand side front and 8.93mm on the right-hand side rear. Fine, fine margins – but that's both cars out of the final race classification.
We’ve gotten the ruling from the FIA, and both McLaren drivers have indeed been disqualified from the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix for excessive plank wear.
More reader emails are rolling in regarding reaction to the possibility that both McLaren drivers will be disqualified from tonight's race.
Jordan S.: It would be unconscionable for McLaren to NOT receive a double DSQ after Lewis Hamilton received a DSQ for the exact same issue back in China. In that case, the decision came down quickly. Yet in this instance, we’re over two hours post race and it hasn’t come through yet. Why?
Leif J.: This could be HUGE. Max Verstappen might have a chance to win the championship!
Let us know your opinion at live@theathletic.com.
Reader Lucas L. has emailed us to give his reaction to the jeopardy the McLaren drivers are in.
✉️ I'm absolutely bewildered that this may happen to the McLaren boys. As a Red Bull fan, this is very surprising.
What's your take on the threat of disqualification? And on the chaos it would add to the drivers' championship standings? Let us know at live@theathletic.com!
McLaren has told reporters that Andrea Stella will not be speaking to the press after the decision is issued, but will rather be issuing a statement.
Sadly the complexity of F1 means we very rarely get quick, decisive calls from the stewards when it comes to post-race technical checks. We're now at three-and-a-half hours post-race and still no word of an outcome.
When drivers have been disqualified for excessive plank wear in the past, limited running in free practice sessions has been a common theme. Both of the recent examples of this occurring – Lewis Hamilton in China this season, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Texas in 2023 – came during sprint weekends, when there's only one practice session instead of the usual three.
That wasn't the case this weekend, but other factors combined to curtail practice running. FP2 was effectively over after 40 minutes due to a pair of red flags over concerns of a loose manhole cover, and running in FP3 was compromised by rain.
The less practice running, the less data teams have to prepare for these kinds of challenges during races.
Another famous example of disqualification due to excessive plank wear came all the way back in 1994, when Michael Schumacher's victory in the Belgian Grand Prix was nullified for this reason. In a season full of controversy, Schumacher was also disqualified from the British Grand Prix and subsequently suspended for two races, but still managed to win the drivers' championship by one point over Damon Hill.
After races, all 20 cars are weighed and undergo inspections for things such as tire pressures, fuel samples, torque control and oil consumption. A number of cars are also randomly selected for additional technical checks, including the plank wear inspection.
That means that at least one of the McLaren cars was randomly selected for that check. Once an issue was found with one McLaren, the other would also be checked for the same issue if it hadn't already been randomly selected.
Had the FIA not checked the planks on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's cars, both would have escaped detection and possible disqualification.
Team representatives typically go into hearings with the stewards armed with all the arguments possible to escape sanction.
Oscar Piastri heads into the Nevada night looking sanguine. He said goodbye to the McLaren mechanics breaking from packing down the team’s garage on his way out and left with his manager Mark Webber.
Lando Norris has been gone almost 90 minutes – before it was officially confirmed the McLarens were under investigation.
The plank on the underside of an F1 car is made of a composite material called Jabroc, a kind of strengthened beechwood. Its primary purpose is for safety, stopping the cars from bottoming into the circuit.
The point of the plank wear rule is to ensure teams are not running their cars too close to the ground and consequently gaining a performance benefit by increasing the downforce generated by the floors, which are especially powerful under the current "ground effect" regulations.
After each race, the FIA conducts an extensive scrutineering process that checks various aspects of all cars. The information is detailed in a post-race report issued by the FIA’s technical delegate, Jo Bauer, and sent to all competitors and made available to the media.
Above, you can see an example of the plank down the middle of the underside of a Ferrari in 2019.
If Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for excessive plank wear, they won't be the first drivers to face the penalty this season. Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix in March due to the thickness of his rear skid block being below the minimum 9mm in thickness.
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were also both disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix for this reason.
More on the plank wear rule and what happened earlier this year at the link below.
GO FURTHER
Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly disqualified from Chinese Grand Prix
Let me stress that we do not know the outcome of the investigation into the McLaren cars at this time. With that said, here's the drivers' standings based on tonight's provisional results:
And here's how they would look if both McLaren drivers are disqualified from tonight's race:
Norris' lead over second place would only fall from 30 points to 24. Meanwhile, Piastri's lead over Verstappen would drop from 12 to zero.
Verstappen would obviously be the big winner, seeing his deficit to Norris decrease from 42 to 24.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto has been handed a five-place grid penalty for next weekend's Qatar Grand Prix for his collision with Lance Stroll at the opening corner tonight, which knocked both drivers out of the race.
Both McLaren cars have officially been referred to the stewards for excessive plank wear.
A document from the FIA states: "The rearmost skid was measured on both cars … The measured thickness was less than 9 mm on both cars, which is the minimum thickness required."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella's post-race press conference has been delayed, and Lando Norris' car is reportedly still being scrutineered by race officials. If an issue is found, such as not enough fuel left to comprise a sample or excessive plank wear, that could result in a disqualification for Norris, which would reduce his lead over Oscar Piastri in the drivers' standings from 30 points all the way down to nine. But that's only speculation at this time. Norris was clearly conserving fuel at the end of the race, so it would follow that he was on the limit in that regard, but that doesn't guarantee an infraction occurred. In short, watch this space!

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