Lando Norris Disqualified from 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP: McLaren Skid Block Violation Shakes Title Fight

Lando Norris was disqualified from the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix for a skid block rules breach. How McLaren’s DQ changed the title fight with Verstappen and Piastri.

Lando Norris Disqualified from 2025 F1 Las Vegas GP as Skid Block Breach Hits McLaren

Norris and Piastri DSQ after Las Vegas GP

McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix after post-race checks revealed a clear breach of the technical regulations.

During the mandatory FIA inspection after the race, both McLaren MCL39 cars were found to have rear skid blocks worn below the minimum 9mm thickness, forcing the stewards to exclude them from the final results and dramatically reshaping the championship battle.

The decision means race winner Max Verstappen makes a big step in the Drivers’ Championship, drawing level with Oscar Piastri on 366 points. Title leader Lando Norris remains on 390 points, with his advantage cut to just 24 points as F1 heads into the final two races and one sprint of the 2025 season.

Why Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri Were Disqualified in Las Vegas

According to the stewards’ documents, the FIA technical team carried out a detailed post-race inspection of the McLaren MCL39 chassis. The rear skid blocks – critical components that help control ride height and protect the floor – were measured and found to be below the allowed wear limit.

A subsequent re-measurement, witnessed by three McLaren representatives, produced even lower readings than the initial checks, confirming without doubt that the cars were not in compliance with the regulations.

Under Article 3.5.9 of the 2025 F1 Technical Regulations:

• Skid blocks must be 10mm ±0.2mm thick when new

• Even after wear during a race, they must remain at a minimum thickness of 9mm

With both cars failing to meet this 9mm requirement, the stewards ruled that disqualification was the only possible outcome, regardless of intent or circumstances. McLaren’s arguments were noted, but the measurements were described as “uncontroversial”, leaving no room for an alternative penalty.

McLaren’s Explanation Rejected – FIA Confirms It Was Not Intentional

McLaren attempted to explain the excessive skid block wear by pointing to a combination of factors:

• Unexpectedly strong porpoising during the race

• Limited running and setup time due to bad weather and a shortened practice day

• Difficulties optimising ride height on a bumpy, high-speed street circuit

The team argued that these conditions left “room for leniency” in how the rules were applied.

However, the stewards rejected the plea, emphasising that technical regulations are strict and that cars must remain legal at all times, no matter the circumstances.

At the same time, the FIA made it clear that McLaren did not act in bad faith. In their official statement, they stressed that the infringement was not an intentional attempt to bypass the rules, and that there was no evidence of cheating – only a clear case of the car running below the allowed skid block wear limit.

This is the third skid block-related disqualification of the 2025 season, after Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) were previously thrown out of race results for similar infringements.

Lando Norris Before Disqualification: Fuel Issues Ruin a Hard-Fought Race

Before the shock disqualification, Lando Norris’s race in Las Vegas was already far from straightforward.

Starting from pole position, Norris aggressively defended the lead from Max Verstappen into Turn 1. However, a braking error saw him run wide and drop to third place, handing the advantage back to Red Bull.

From there, Norris mounted an impressive recovery, fighting his way back up to second place and keeping himself in the mix for another crucial podium in the title fight.

In the closing stages, though, his pace visibly dropped. Norris was repeatedly instructed to “lift and coast” to manage fuel system concerns, which forced him to slow down and protect the car.

“I honestly don’t know what the problem was. The team just told me to slow down because there were some issues, and I’ll look into the details later,” Norris said after the race.

In the end, even that salvaged result was wiped from the record, as his disqualification removed him entirely from the final Las Vegas Grand Prix classification.

Oscar Piastri’s Recovery Drive Also Erased by Disqualification

For Oscar Piastri, the 2025 Las Vegas GP was a story of damage limitation turned into heartbreak.

At the start, Piastri was caught up in a minor collision with Liam Lawson at Turn 1, dropping him to seventh place and forcing him into recovery mode from the very first lap.

Despite the early setback and a messy opening lap, Piastri steadily climbed back through the field. With the help of a strong strategy from McLaren and time penalties for rivals – including a five-second penalty for Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Piastri looked set to finish fourth, a solid haul of points in his championship campaign.

“The first lap was a complete mess, and my subsequent mistakes didn’t help me either. But the team’s strategy helped me turn the race around,”Piastri admitted, clearly frustrated that his efforts ultimately didn’t count.

Just like Norris, Piastri’s final result was deleted from the official classification, turning what could have been a strong damage-limitation race into a zero-point weekend.

How the Norris Disqualification Changes the 2025 F1 Title Fight

The Las Vegas disqualification could prove to be a turning point in the 2025 F1 World Championship.

After the stewards’ decision, the Drivers’ Championship standings now look like this:

• Lando Norris – 390 points

• Max Verstappen – 366 points

• Oscar Piastri – 366 points

Norris still leads the championship, but his cushion has shrunk to just 24 points over both Verstappen and Piastri.

With two Grands Prix and one sprint race remaining, there are 58 points still available:

• 25 points for a race win

• 18 points for second, 15 for third, etc.

• Plus points from the remaining sprint race

That means one bad weekend for Norris – or one dominant performance from Verstappen or Piastri – could completely flip the title order. What looked like Norris’s championship to lose is now a three-way showdown heading into the finale.

A Las Vegas Shock That Will Echo to the Season Finale

The 2025 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was already expected to be a spectacular night race on the Strip, but McLaren’s double disqualification has turned it into one of the defining moments of the season.

From a pure performance point of view, Norris and Piastri both delivered strong drives in difficult conditions. But in modern Formula 1, technical compliance is as important as raw speed – and falling foul of the skid block regulations has cost McLaren dearly.

As the championship moves towards its final rounds, Lando Norris’s disqualification in Las Vegas may be remembered as the moment that reopened the door for Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

One thing is certain: after the drama in Las Vegas, the 2025 F1 title race is more intense than ever.

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