Both McLaren drivers have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen now level with Oscar Piastri and 24 behind Lando Norris in the championship.
Norris originally finished second and Piastri fourth, as Verstappen led every lap after overtaking polesitter Norris at Turn 1. The championship leader’s pace dropped in the closing laps of the race as McLaren admitted to fixing a problem, and in post-race technical inspections the FIA noted that both cars had recorded excessive plank wear.
The rear skids were less than 9mm thick – on Norris’s car they were 0.12mm and 0.07mm down in two positions, while on Piastri’s they were 0.12mm, 0.26mm and 0.10mm spread across three positions – and although the stewards believe this was not the result of deliberate tuning decisions by McLaren, technical infringements carry the penalty of disqualification.
“The team submitted that there were extenuating circumstances in that there were additional and unexpected porpoises during this event, limited testing opportunities due to the weather on day 1 and shorter practice sessions,” the stewards’ decision read. “Furthermore, the team stated that the level of violation was lower than previous violations of these regulations in 2025.
“The FIA submitted that unfortunately there was no provision in the regulations or in precedent for a penalty other than the usual penalty (i.e. disqualification). The FIA noted that it strongly believed that the infringement was unintentional and that there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.
“The Stewards also take note of the various decisions of the FIA International Court of Appeal, which limit the possibility of avoiding disqualification for technical infringements.”
Both cars are disqualified, promoting George Russell to second and Kimi Antonelli to third, with Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman all scoring points from fourth to tenth respectively.
The McLarens are the third and fourth cars to be disqualified this season for excessive plank wear, after Hamilton in China and Hulkenberg in Bahrain.
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