McLaren double disqualification revives Max Verstappen’s Formula One title hopes

LAS VEGAS – Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov 22 and roared back into the Formula One title battle, after the shock disqualification of McLaren’s championship leader Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri.

Norris, who started on pole and finished second, and fourth-placed Piastri were ruled out for technical reasons linked to the under-car skid planks hours after the race had ended and the podium champagne been sprayed.

The development left Britain’s Norris 24 points clear of four-time world champion Verstappen and Australian Piastri, now tied on points, with two rounds to go in Qatar and Abu Dhabi and 58 points available.

Said Norris: “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. It’s frustrating to lose so many points.”

Piastri added: “Disappointing to come away from this weekend with no points after an unfortunate disqualification due to skid wear. With how close the grid is, we’re always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn’t get it right this time.”

Stewards had summoned both McLaren drivers after a post-race FIA inspection found the thickness of the plank assembly was below the permitted minimum.

George Russell, the 2024 winner of the floodlit race and like Norris making his 150th start, moved up to second with teammate Kimi Antonelli taking third.

Antonelli was fourth at the flag but had dropped to fifth after a five-second penalty was applied for a jumped start.

Norris, who finished 20.741 seconds behind Verstappen, can still secure his first title in Qatar next weekend but Verstappen is now within striking distance again for a fifth title in a row.

McLaren have already clinched the constructors’ crown for the second year in a row.

“The car was working pretty well, much more to my liking,” said Verstappen, ferried to the podium with Norris and Russell in a Lego pink Cadillac convertible driven by actor Terry Crews as fireworks lit up the sky over the Strip.

“It was at the end quite a decent gap.”

It was the 69th win of Verstappen’s career and his sixth of the season, as well as his 125th podium and eighth in a row in the 150th grand prix of Red Bull’s partnership with Honda.

Norris started on pole but lost the lead to Verstappen at the start, dropping to third when he ran wide at the first corner and opened the door for the Dutch driver and Russell.

He retook second from Russell on the 34th of 50 laps but then had to manage fuel to the finish.

“I let Max have a win,” he joked. “I let him go, let him have a nice race. No, I just braked too late,” he added, with an expletive on the live television feed that could also land the Briton in trouble with the governing FIA.

“It was not my best performance out there but when the guy wins by 20 seconds, it’s because he has just done a better job and they’re a bit quicker.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved up to fourth in the adjusted results, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz fifth. Isack Hadjar was sixth for Racing Bulls, while Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton placed seventh and eighth.

Haas pair Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were ninth and 10th.

The McLarens are not the first team to fall foul of the rules on skid blocks, which are intended to prevent the cars from running too low and gaining extra speed.

Russell was disqualified after winning in Belgium last season for the same technical infringement, while Hamilton has been penalised twice.

In 2023, when he was still at Mercedes, seven-time world champion Hamilton was disqualified from the US Grand Prix along with Ferrari’s Leclerc.

And this season, with new team Ferrari, it happened again after the Chinese Grand Prix in March. REUTERS, AFP