McLaren suffer double disqualification in dramatic Vegas Grand Prix

After the conclusion of the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday, Championship leader Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri received the shocking news that they had both been disqualified from the race, after stewards discovered excessive skid plank wear on both vehicles.

Norris originally finished 2nd in the grid, while Piastri grabbed fourth place and World Champion Max Verstappen claimed the victory. Though not the ideal outcome, the McClaren duo were still ahead by 42 and 12 points respectively before the technical failure. The pair were naturally devastated, with Norris stating: “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.”

This is not the first occurrence of such a technical fault this season

The McClaren team has apologized to the drivers for this unfortunate incident, clarifying that both of their cars experienced a significant level of ‘porpoising’, or frequent contact with the ground, resulting in the plank being below the minimum thickness imposed by FIA regulations. Under Article 3.5.9, post-race plank thickness can be no less than 9mm. The rearmost skid of both cars were slightly below – 0.12mm for Norris and 0.26mm for Piastri.

This is not the first occurrence of such a technical fault this season. Back in March, Ferrari Driver Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix under similar circumstances.

This decision may end up having an impact of seismic proportions as the fight for the championship has now been blown wide open. Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen ties Piastri for points, only trailing him in third due to a lower number of wins. Although the Dutchman is still 24 points off top spot, a recent run of four wins in seven races means that it isn’t far-fetched to suggest he has a real shot at winning his fifth title, with two races and one sprint remaining.

Tied for points and desperate to win, Piastri and Verstappen are in the same boat

Not all hope is lost for the McClaren drivers, in particular frontrunner Lando Norris. For him, the equation is simple. In fact, he can clinch the Championship in Qatar this week. With a maximum of 33 points available, the Brit only needs to outscore both Verstappen and Piastri by two points to have a 25 point buffer heading into the Yas Marina circuit at Abu Dhabi.

Tied for points and desperate to win, Piastri and Verstappen are in the same boat. Both not only need to outperform each other but also overtake Norris, with the only difference being that Verstappen has the added pressure of equalling Piastri’s race wins in case of a point tie.

With the Constructors Championship already secured for McClaren, the real question now is individual glory for F1’s three foremost drivers. All of them seem intent on taking home the championship, with just two more race weekends to go.