Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
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.
Finally, here's what Lando Norris had to say following his disqualification.
💬 “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.”
Oscar Piastri also issued a statement following his disqualification.
💬 "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."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has issued a statement following the disqualification of both of his team's drivers from the race.
💬 “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.
“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.”
Looking over the FIA's scrutineering document, all 10 cars that originally finished in the top 10 were checked for plank wear.
Normally a smaller number of cars are randomly selected for that inspection.
These disqualifications significantly heighten the drama heading into the final two race weekends of the 2025 F1 season, and fans are reacting to that news in different ways …
Graham H.: As a Red Bull fan and more specifically a Max fan, this feels like a setup for a final-race battle similar to how Masi set up a last-lap showdown in 2021. Didn’t think the Hamilton DSQ was fair then and don’t think the McLaren DSQ is fair now.
Kristy K.: It’s been a nail-biting season for me as a Piastri fan and this certainly won’t help matters! Really goes to show that you can never count Verstappen out of a title fight, but we’ll have to see if Norris can keep up his frankly very impressive driving. Who knew the most shocking part of the race would be after the chequered flag?
Arshdeep B.: Writing this at 2 a.m., I can't help but think how destroyed Lando Norris must be. You just barely got by in P2, only to be disqualified for something out of your control. Oscar, on the other hand, appeared and probably is a bit joyous as the gap from him to Lando is shortened because of the DSQ. And McLaren has just continued to keep Max in the title race one way or another. He smells blood on the track.
Remember, you can send us your reaction by emailing live@theathletic.com!
GO FURTHER
McLaren’s double disqualification makes it game on for the F1 championship
More reaction from our readers is rolling in following this shocking development in the drivers' championship title fight.
Abdul M.: This championship is about to explode. This late drama has me BUZZING. Max is right back in it. We might even have a repeat of Abu Dhabi 2010. Might be one of the greatest title fights we’ve seen in a while.
Naysan M.: Papaya rules, one disqualification must mean two. Potentially a positive for Oscar too reducing his margin to Lando and keeping all three drivers' hopes wide open. F1 couldn’t have wished for more given the last few seasons!
CJ Y.: Seems McLaren will be wishing what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but Vegas will cast a long shadow if they aren’t able to put the points back on the board over the final two races. And Kimi gets another podium!
George A.: It’s an absolute shame that Kimi didn’t get to celebrate with the other drivers on the podium and in the other activities.
Join the fun by emailing us at live@theathletic.com!
This one is definitely going to hurt McLaren. It's a team that has prided itself on its resurgence in recent years, going from last to first in the space of 18 months, with an impeccable level of attention to detail and its technical work. To now lose both cars — especially at this point of the world championship fight — will really sting.
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."
The document notes that McLaren have the right to appeal the decision.
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 were 8.88 millimeters on the front right-hand side and 8.93 millimeters on the rear right-hand side on Norris' car. On Piastri's car, it was 8.96 millimeters on the front left-hand side, 8.74 millimeters on the front right-hand side and 8.90 millimeters on the rear right-hand side.
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.

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