Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix after both of their McLaren cars failed post-race technical checks on Sunday
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been inducted into an unfortunate Formula One club after the McLaren pair were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Brit had initially crossed the finish line behind Max Verstappen on Sunday, while the Aussie star secured a fourth-place finish.
However, a technical infringement led to the drivers being hit with a harsh disqualification. After both their motors failed post-race technical inspections, the FIA discovered that the thickness of the planks under both McLaren cars was below the 9mm required by the end of a race.
The findings indicated that the cars had an illegally low ride height, resulting in them being disqualified from the 22nd race of the 2025 season. The penalty not only put Verstappen on equal points with Piastri with just three races remaining.
The four-time reigning champion is now merely 24 points behind championship leader Norris, setting up what promises to be a nail-biting conclusion to the season.
Sunday’s disqualification marked the first for Norris and Piastri in their F1 careers, as they now join six other drivers on the F1 grid who have suffered the same fate. Their double disqualification wasn’t even the first this year, with that dubious distinction going to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
READ MORE: Christian Horner handed F1 comeback opportunity as team boss ‘set to be sacked’READ MORE: McLaren issue Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri apology as Las Vegas disqualification explained
The Ferrari duo were booted out of the Chinese Grand Prix back in March, along with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Hamilton found himself in hot water when the rearmost skid of his car was found to be thinner than the 9mm thickness allowed by the rules, resulting in his P6 finish being wiped out.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
Leclerc, who crossed the line in P5 in China, added to Ferrari’s woes after his car was discovered to be under the minimum weight required. As for Gasly, the Frenchman found himself in the same boat as Leclerc, with both their cars tipping the scales at 799kg after the race, falling short of the minimum weight of 800kg following a post-race check-up.
Before Nico Hulkenberg’s first podium at Silverstone, the German experienced his first disqualification after 15 years in F1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The 38-year-old echoed Hamilton’s Chinese Grand Prix mishap as his Sauber was found to have excessive skid block wear.
As if disqualifications weren’t tough enough to swallow, that might have been the case for George Russell in last year’s Belgian Grand Prix. The Brit clinched the race with then-Mercedes team-mate Hamilton finishing second, securing a stunning one-two finish for the Silver Arrows.
However, Russell’s elation quickly turned into a nightmare when his car was found to be 1.5kg underweight, leading to his disqualification and promoting Hamilton to race winner. Esteban Ocon’s only disqualification occurred seven years ago during the Frenchman’s stint with Force India.
Now racing for Alpine, the 29-year-old driver secured an impressive eighth-place finish in Austin. However, a post-race inspection revealed that his car had exceeded the maximum fuel mass flow limit of 100kg/hr during the race’s opening lap.
