Both McLaren drivers were disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, leaving Verstappen 24 points behind Oscar Piastri in the championship and level on points with Lando Norris.
Initially, Norris finished second and Piastri fourth, but Verstappen overtook pole sitter Norris at Turn 1 and took the lead every lap. The championship leaders’ pace slowed in the final stages of the race as McLaren admitted it was dealing with problems, and post-race technical inspections found the FIA found excessive plate wear on both cars.
Rear skid thickness was below the minimum 9mm, with Norris’ car being 0.12mm and 0.07mm in two positions, while Piastri’s car was 0.12mm, 0.26mm and 0.10mm in three positions. Although the stewards believe it was not the result of a deliberate set-up decision by McLaren, the technical breach carries a disqualification penalty.
“The team contended that mitigating circumstances existed, including an additional unexpected porpoise outbreak at this event, limited testing opportunities due to the weather on the first day, and a shortened practice session,” the stewards’ decision said. “Furthermore, the team submitted that the severity of the violation was lower than previous violations of this regulation in 2025.
“The FIA argued that, unfortunately, there was no provision in the regulations or precedent for any penalty other than a normal penalty (i.e. disqualification).The FIA noted that it was of the strong view that the breach was unintentional and that there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.”
“The Stewards also take note of various decisions of the FIA International Court of Appeal which limit the ability to avoid disqualification for technical violations.”
With both cars disqualified, George Russell moved up to second and Kimi Antonelli to third, while Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Izak Hajar, Nico Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman each scored points from fourth to 10th.
McLaren becomes the third and fourth cars to be disqualified for excessive plank wear this season, following Hamilton in China and Hulkenberg in Bahrain.
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