Formula 1 fans have been left stunned by McLaren's double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished the race around the streets of Sin City in second and fourth place, their cars failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement of the rear skid block, leading to a double disqualification.
While it was a disastrous weekend for the Woking outfit, drivers' championship rival Max Verstappen took the victory and is now equal in points with Piastri ahead of the final two rounds of the season. Norris continues to lead the championship, but only has a 24-point lead over Piastri and Verstappen.
Fans have been quick to share their reactions on social media, with one branding the double disqualification as a "colossal f*** up".
"What a colossal f*** up. Welcome to Ferrari tier, McLaren," one fan wrote on Reddit, while another posted: "Damnnnnnn, can’t believe we went from 'Max can be eliminated from the championship this weekend' to 'Max is now on equal points as Oscar'."
Another fan commented, "Wow. Imagine taking that kind of risk at this stage of the championship. 5th or 6th would have been fine really."
"Yeah, it's so disappointing," someone else posted, and another clearly couldn't resist making an F1 movie reference. "They didn’t build their car for combat," they quipped.
"How unbelievably stupid can you be to even risk doing that?" a fan commented, while another responded: "I'm actually shocked. I maybe get if they tried it with Oscar as he is 2nd at risk of being 3rd. But Lando just has to not crash out and it's his. Why the f*** would you do this?"
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella issued an apology to both Norris and Piastri.
“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," he said in a press release. "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.”
The focus now moves on to the Qatar Grand Prix next week, which is set to feature the final sprint race of the season.
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