Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a dramatic incident that could have lasting ramifications for the 2025 F1 title race.
The 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.
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 with two rounds – Qatar and Abu Dhabi – remaining and 58 points, courtesy of the sprint race in Qatar, still left to play for.
Follow all the latest news and reaction below:
F1 latest news and updates
- Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from the Las Vegas GP
- A double McLaren DSQ has huge ramifications in the F1 title race
- Max Verstappen now only trails Norris by 24 points and is level on points with Piastri
- EXPLAINER: Why have Norris and Piastri been disqualfied?
- COMMENT: Lando Norris hit by McLaren’s all-time F1 screw-up but one move can still save title dream
McLaren apologise to Norris and Piastri
11:40 , Mike JonesMcLaren’s disqualification from the Las Vegas GP was not an ‘intentional’ breach of the rules according to the FIA but both cars were found to be outside the parameters of Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.
The team sent their apologies to both drivers but reiterated their focus for the rest of the campaign.
A statement from McLaren said: “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.
“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.”
McLaren pinpoint reason behind rules breach
11:31 , Mike JonesMcLaren have apologised to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after both drivers were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix in a dramatic moment in the 2025 F1 title race.
The Papaya also detailed the reason behind the rules breach after the FIA found excessive skid plank wear on both cars, with the minimum thickness falling below the 9mm threshold.
McLaren pinpoint reason behind Lando Norris disqualification in Las Vegas
Can Verstappen win the championship?
11:20 , Mike JonesSpeaking before Norris and Piastri were disqualified, Verstappen spoke about his prospects of winning the drivers’ title.
"It's still a big gap, we always try and maximise everything we've got,” he said.
"In upcoming weekends we will try and win the race and at the end of Abu Dhabi we will see where we end up, but I'm very proud of everyone.
"We've had a up and down season and tough times, but also some really beautiful moments.
"We learnt a lot throughout the whole season and that's always very valuable for the upcoming years.
"It's something that we have to cling onto and just try and improve even more and come back stronger for next year and to put a fight at the start of the year in the championship.
"We are enjoying it now and we will see next week what we can do again."
Max Verstappen reacts to Las Vegas win
11:10 , Mike Jones"It was good, in practice we didn't really know what the tyres were going to do,” Max Verstappen explained after his victory in Las Vegas.
"In the race you could just see that everyone was just trying to find the rhythm and see how much you can push, especially in the first stint because you're on the more fragile tyre. It worked really well.
"Normally the race is always a tough one for us, we are not normally that great on tyres, but today it seemed like we were more in control and I could push a little bit more.
"We had a lot more pace and I could stay out a little bit longer and split the race in half and that definitely helped a lot.
"The car was working pretty well, much more to my liking and at the end it was quite a decent lap. Every lap I was just feeling comfortable and not taking too much out of the tyre."
FIA statement on McLaren disqualifications
11:00 , Mike JonesA statement from the FIA stewards details: “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 (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.”
Can Norris win the title in Qatar?
10:50 , Mike JonesAfter disqualification in Las Vegas, Lando Norris’ lead to both Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen is down to 24 points.
However, by the end of the final sprint race of the year at the penultimate round in Qatar, Piastri and Verstappen would need to be within 50 points of Norris to stand a mathematical chance of catching him. With a maximum of eight points in the sprint, Norris now can’t win the title in the Qatar sprint race. The worst situation for both chasing drivers is a deficit of 32 points.
Therefore, the earliest Norris can win the title is the grand prix in Qatar on Sunday 30 November.
When can Lando Norris win the 2025 F1 world championship?
10:40 , Mike JonesLando Norris is still in position to win the 2025 F1 world championship despite disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver’s grip on the title was weakened after the FIA’s investigation into the skid blocks underneath both drivers’ cars, with Max Verstappen winning the race on The Strip.
Norris had finished second, after a mistake on pole at the opening corner had dropped him behind Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.
But after both McLaren drivers’ points were wiped off, Norris’ lead has been chopped from 30 to 24 points clear of both Piastri and Verstappen with just 58 left on the table across the concluding two rounds.
It means the 26-year-old Englishman could still secure the world title with a round to spare at next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.
F1 standings after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP
10:30 , Mike JonesLando 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.
F1 standings after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP
Sky F1's Karun Chandhok on McLaren double DSQ:
10:20 , Mike Jones“Big news on a day when Max banks 25 points…
“The interesting this is that in Austin, McLaren said they were too conservative on the ride height as they didn’t have data from the Sprint.
“Here their argument was they didn’t have enough info from practice, yet went too aggressive.”
F1 World Drivers' Championship: Latest odds after Norris and Piastri disqualified
10:10 , Mike JonesDespite the huge set-back for Lando Norris, the Briton remains a strong favourite with the bookies to land that world title.
But Max Verstappen has closed in significantly and is considered much more likely to beat out Norris than the McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri:
- Lando Norris - 2/9
- Max Verstappen - 3/1
- Oscar Piastri - 18/1
Source: Betfair
F1 constructor standings after Vegas GP
09:59 , Mike Jones1. McLaren - 756 points (champions)
2. Mercedes - 431 points
3. Red Bull - 391 points
4. Ferrari - 378 points
5. Williams - 121 points
6. Racing Bulls - 90 points
7. Haas - 73 points
8. Aston Martin - 72 points
9. Sauber - 68 points
10. Alpine - 22 points
Full F1 driver standgings after DSQs at Vegas GP
09:51 , Mike Jones1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 390 points
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 366 points
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 366 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 294 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 226 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 152 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 137 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 73 points
9. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 51 points
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 49 points
11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 48 points
12. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 41 points
13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 40 points
14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 36 points
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points
16. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 31 points
17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 28 points
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 22 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 19 points
20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points
21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points
Piastri on how he'll approach the next races
09:44 , Mike Jones“Just try to put myself in the best position I can,” Oscar Piastri said when asked how he’ll tackle the next two races.
“I obviously need quite a lot of things to go my way now to win, but all I can do is make myself in the best position to capitalise if something happens.
"That's what I will put my effort into and just try to have some good results."
Lando Norris reacts to ‘frustrating’ Las Vegas GP disqualification
09:37 , Mike JonesLando Norris and Oscar Piastri have accepted their “frustrating” double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix due to skid wear issues on their McLaren F1 car.
McLaren issued an apology to both Norris and Piastri after the loss of points at a critical stage of the season, and the championship leader said it was “a frustrating end to today”.
“We had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified,” Norris said.
“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.
“Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar, where we'll aim to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session.”
What Norris and Piastri's disqualification means for the title race
09:31 , Mike JonesLando Norris and Oscar Piastri have both been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix meaning their chances of winning the drivers’ championship title have taken a huge hit.
Norris still leads the standings but is now only 24 points ahead of his teammate Piastri, and perhaps more pressingly, also Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Verstappen is a four time World Champion and will have his sights set on pipping both McLaren’s to victory with two races left in the season.
There are 58 points left on offer in Qatar and Abu Dhabi which will no doubt set up a thrilling end to the campaign.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP in seismic F1 title swing
09:25 , Kieran JacksonLando 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.
Norris and Piastri disqualified from Las Vegas GP in seismic F1 title swing
Good morning!
09:23 , Mike JonesIt’s the day after the night before and McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be in no mood to celebrate after being disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for excessive skid plank wear.
The decision to disqualify them from the race in Vegas means that the door has been opened for Max Verstappen to pip either driver to the world championship title over the final two races of the season though Norris remains in pole position.
We’ll get through all the details of the Vegas race as well as the possible ramifications of the disqualifications throughout the day as Formula 1 looks ahead to Qatar and the penultimate race weekend of the 2025 season.
