Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las…

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP in seismic F1 title swing

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a dramatic moment in the 2025 F1 title race.

The seismic post-race development means Max Verstappen, who won in Vegas, is now just 24 points behind championship leader Norris and moves level on points with Piastri with two rounds remaining.

Norris had initially extended his lead to his McLaren teammate Piastri to 30 points after finishing second in Vegas, with the Australian only coming home in fourth place.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Getty Images)

Yet post-race analysis of both McLaren cars from the FIA found excessive skid plank wear on both cars, with the minimum thickness falling below the 9mm threshold. As a result, the matter was referred to the stewards, who disqualified both cars from the race classification.

It means Norris now only has a 24-point advantage over both Piastri and Verstappen with two rounds – Qatar and Abu Dhabi – remaining and 58 points, courtesy of the sprint race in Qatar, still left to play for.

Though level on points with Piastri, Verstappen technically remains in third place, having won one less grand prix over the course of the season than the McLaren driver.

The stewards’ verdict revealed that the plank-wear was 0.12mm over the limit for Norris’s car and 0.26mm for Piastri’s car. McLaren argued that unexpected porpoising, when the car bounces violently up and down, limited testing opportunities due to rain on Thursday night and shortened practice sessions in Vegas gave them mitigating circumstances.

However, the FIA acknowledged there was no room in the regulations or in past decisions for anything other than a disqualification verdict.

It is a stunning development, re-integrating Verstappen in the championship fight. That being said, Norris still holds a clear advantage and could still win the world title at the next race in Qatar, should the lead exceed 25 points heading to Abu Dhabi.

The FIA statement reads: “The rear skids of Car 4 and Car 81 were measured and found to be below the minimum thickness of 9mm specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.

Both McLaren cars failed post-race checks (Getty Images)

“The relevant measurements were RHS Front 8.88mm, RHS Rear 8.93mm (Norris); RHS Front 8.96mm, 8.74mm (Piastri). The measuring device was a Mitutoyo Micrometre purchased in May 2025 and according to the manufacturer’s specifications, accurate to within 0.001mm.

“The rear skids were re-measured in the presence of the steward 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.”

Norris and a McLaren team representative visited the stewards just before midnight local time to argue their case, but could not stop the inevitable disqualification confirmed by the race officials.

Max Verstappen now trails by just 24 points (Getty Images)

Norris, running in second behind Verstappen, slowed down in the closing laps of the 50-lap race, reportedly due to fuel-saving concerns.

The initial report from FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer read: “The skid wear of car numbers 81 (Piastri) and 04 (Norris) was checked.

“The rearmost skid was measured on both cars according to the team’s legality documents submission in accordance with TD039 M, item 1.2 b) i). The measured thickness was less than 9mm on both cars, which is the minimum thickness required by TR Article 3.5.9 e).”

The decision is identical to the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Chinese Grand Prix back in March, after falling foul of post-race technical checks. Both Hamilton and Leclerc were disqualified from the 2023 United States Grand Prix, also for damage to the skid block.