Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a dramatic moment in the 2025 F1 title race.
Norris finished the Vegas race in second, with Max Verstappen winning the grand prix and Oscar Piastri down in fourth. Norris had extended his lead to 30 points as a result.
However, in a massive post-race development, both McLaren cars were under investigation from the FIA for excessive plank wear. Then, the matter was referred to the stewards, who duly dished out a crushing double disqualification for McLaren.
The decision means both Verstappen and Piastri trail Norris by 24 points, with two rounds remaining and 58 points left on the table. Verstappen would be level on points with Piastri, though the Australian would stay ahead in second, courtesy of having more race wins (seven to six) than the Dutchman.
But why were Norris and Piastri disqualified?
Norris and Piastri have been punished for an illegal post-race car, with the thickness of the plank, which is underneath the car, below the required 9mm thickness as per the FIA regulations.
The skid wear is monitored so teams don’t run their cars too low to the ground for a performance benefit.
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.
The FIA statement in full 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.
“The relevant measurements were RHS Front 8.88mm, RHS Rear 8.93mm. 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.
“Accordingly the stewards determined 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, which limit the ability to avoid disqualification for technical breaches.”
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.
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 initial report from FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer reads: “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).
“I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
The specific section of the FIA rulebook states: “The thickness of the plank assembly measured normal to the lower surface must be 10mm [plus or minus] 0.2mm and must be uniform when new.
“A minimum thickness of 9mm will be accepted due to wear, and conformity to this provision will be checked at the peripheries of the designated holes.”
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.
It means Norris (18 points) and Piastri (12 points) are wiped from the final Las Vegas GP standings.
As a result, Norris’s lead over Piastri remains at 24 points, with Vegas race winner Max Verstappen now level on points with Piastri.
Verstappen stays technically in third, as the Dutchman has won less races than Piastri, by six to seven.
There are two rounds remaining, with a sprint weekend in Qatar next week before the season-finale in Abu Dhabi. There are 58 points still left to play for.
