Both McLaren drivers disqualified from F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix 2025

It was not the ideal outing for McLaren at the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, as Lando Norris was unable to convert his pole position to a win.

A P2 finish for Norris and a P4 for Oscar Piastri would have been the least for the British team, but it got much worse as both their cars were disqualified from the race due to technical non-conformity.

Post the completion of the race, the McLaren cars were referred to the stewards for skid wear issues, as the thickness of the rearmost skid was less than 9 mm on both cars. Following the investigation, McLaren were found guilty of breaching the rules, which led to disqualification of both Norris and Piastri.

On the matter, the stewards stated the following:

“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.”

Max Verstappen has been the biggest gainer from the McLaren double disqualification. The Dutchman is now level with Oscar Piastri on points in the Drivers’ Championship table with 366 points, with Norris leading with 390 points with two races to go.

The McLaren disqualifications have also brought up Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli to P3 from P5, while Haas have ended up with a double points finish, with Esteban Ocon in P9 and Oliver Bearman in P10. Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell, has moved to second place.

The final points positions read as follows from P1 to P10: Max Verstappen, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hülkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, and Ollie Bearman.