To quote a very lucky person: “Every time this F1 season seemed to be heading in a certain direction, there was a twist in the story that created uncertainty and excitement.”
Saturday night in Las Vegas provided just the latest example.
Max Verstappen’s victory was impressiveBut it still felt like another big step towards the drivers’ championship, as Lando Norris picked up another 18 points to extend his lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points and a further 12 points clear of Verstappen.
But when Norris had to slow his pace considerably in the closing stages, a metaphorical red flag was being waved as he was clearly dealing with some sort of issue. Lifting and coasting into a corner usually means one of two things: the car is low on fuel or the plates are slightly worn.
About an hour after the race ended, whispers began to circulate in the paddock that there might be a problem with Norris’ car, and the McLaren went dark while FIA checks continued. Then came the confirmation – Both cars had rearmost skid blocks measuring below the legal limit of 9mm.
And all at once, the face of the entire championship changed.
After an hour-long hearing, the reason for McLaren’s miscalculation was deemed by the stewards to be unintentional, but any breach of the technical regulations will result in disqualification regardless of intent.
The circumstances increased the risk of excessive plank wear, but it was McLaren who failed to meet the challenge. Rudy Kaleseborg/Getty Images
All teams faced the challenge of starting the weekend on a track with poor weather and very low grip, with some teams losing track in the second half of FP2. Additionally, depending on the way the cars were running, there was a possibility that everyone could encounter a porpoise during the race, so McLaren’s pleas for the situation to be eased were not met. The rest of the grid was constructed for larger contingencies depending on the situation.
The failure is more costly for Norris than for Piastri, with the Australian theoretically regaining the six points he initially lost, leaving him with a 24-point lead heading into Qatar. But the real winner is Verstappen.
Scoring maximum points on a night when both McLarens failed to score, he transformed from a huge title outsider into a real threat. Verstappen, who is currently level on points with Piastri, is closing in on Norris’ victory in the race, with 58 points remaining with two rounds remaining.
Despite winning in Qatar last year, Verstappen remains an outsider as McLaren is expected to be strong in both of the past two races. But the near-ruthless manner in which he completely erased his 104-point lead over Piastri just seven races ago is putting a lot of pressure on him.
This was a driver’s championship in which one of the McLaren pair was firmly in the lead and could have won, but no one would have expected Verstappen to be in a position to pull Qatar into the championship lead.
McLaren’s mistake came despite Verstappen arriving in Las Vegas with a 49-point lead and no need to take any risks with his set-up. It’s great in the end, but when there were so many unknowns in terms of race pace with no long runs and rain on Friday, keeping the ride height safe was definitely the right thing to do.
In fact, McLaren can no longer afford to play it safe. That’s because Red Bull and Verstappen have been on the offensive for the past three months, and so far that approach has largely worked.
While the team’s approach to having both drivers fight for the title – with rules in place for how they want the race to proceed – has come under fire at times this year, this is not the moment. This was an operational issue that had nothing to do with driver management, but it left the pair under threat from Verstappen.
As all cars crossed the finish line, it looked like the recent trend of Norris leading the championship race was continuing. But the latest surprising development of the season came from the stewards room in the hours that followed.
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