|
LAS VEGAS - McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for illegal plank wear, propelling Max Verstappen right back into the drivers' title fight. F1's rulebook states the thickness of the planks underneath both cars must be no less than 9mm, but McLaren's two cars were found to be below that after Saturday night's race. After the race, McLaren was summoned to the stewards and found to have been in breach of the regulations, which is a slam-dunk disqualification. The sensational twist in 2025's title battle means Verstappen, who had beaten Norris to victory in the race, is now level on points with Piastri on 366 and stands 24 behind Norris with two races left to run. Signs something was amiss came at the end of Saturday night's race as Norris was told to slow his pace dramatically over the final laps, although it was initially believed to have been around fuel. Norris' gap to Verstappen dropped from five seconds to around 21, but he maintained second place ahead of George Russell. Piastri eventually finished fourth, one place ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose five-second penalty dropped him behind the Australian to fifth after crossing the line. Initially, Verstappen's win had kept him alive in the fight, 42 points adrift, but he has now moved into genuine contender territory for the first time all year. There are two races to run in the next two weekends -- starting with the Qatar Grand Prix, which will feature a sprint race on Nov. 29 before the grand prix on Nov. 30. While Verstappen is going for a fifth straight title, Norris and Piastri are fighting to win their first. Verstappen has won four of the eight races since F1's season resumed.  The plank thickness of F1 cars is measured at four points on the planks. While stewards released identical statements for both cars, the FIA found Norris' right-hand front side to be measured at 8.88mm and his right-hand rear to be measured at 8.93mm. Piastri's left-hand front measured at 8.96mm, right-hand front at 8.74mm and his right-hand rear to be at 8.90mm. To put into layman's terms, a hair's width is approximately 0.04 to 0.12 millimeters, meaning McLaren was effectively in breach of the regulations by that sort of margin. The statement read: "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. "Accordingly the Stewards determine that a breach of the Technical Regulations have occurred. The Stewards then heard submissions on penalty. "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 1, 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 (i.e. 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 the Stewards 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 Stewards determine that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement." McLaren team principal Andrea Stella addressed the disastrous result in a statement: "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. He added: "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." Meanwhile, Norris said in a statement it was a "frustrating end" to the day. "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 expressed similar disappointment, adding: "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." There are 33 points on offer at the Qatar Grand Prix, meaning Piastri and Verstappen could now emerge from the penultimate round leading the championship. F1's season then ends with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 7.
|
