Both McLarens disqualified from Las Vegas GP

Both McLaren drivers have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen now level on points with Oscar Piastri and 24 adrift of Lando Norris in the championship.

Norris originally finished second and Piastri fourth, as Verstappen led every lap having overtaken polesitter Norris at Turn 1. The championship leader’s pace dropped off in the closing laps of the race as McLaren admitted he was managing an issue, and in post-race technical inspections the FIA noted that both cars had registered excessive plank wear.

The rear skids were under the minimum thickness of 9mm - on Norris’ car they measured 0.12mm and 0.07mm under in two positions, while on Piastri’s they were 0.12mm, 0.26mm and 0.10mm across three positions - and although the stewards believe it was not the result of intentional set-up decisions from McLaren, technical infringements carry the penalty of disqualification. 

“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,” the stewards’ decision read. “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.”

Both cars being disqualified promote George Russell to second place and Kimi Antonelli into third, with Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman all scoring points from fourth to 10th respectively.

The McLarens are the third and fourth cars to be disqualified for excessive plank wear this season, following Hamilton in China and Hulkenberg in Bahrain.

Updated drivers' standings: