Earthquake in F1: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, disqualified in Las Vegas
The McLarens did not pass the technical review after the 22nd round and lost all the points added. The World Cup is on fire: Max Verstasppen was 24 behind the Englishman, with 58 at stake.
The initial buzz gave way to a firmer hum until it became an absolute shock in the final stretch of the 2025 Formula 1 season: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, first and second in the tournament, were excluded from the Las Vegas GP after their McLarens did not pass the technical review of the International Automobile Federation.
While Mickey commanded the spectacular show of lights, music and fireworks prior to the podium, those in charge of the FIA technical team, with Jo Bauer at the helm, began to work on checking the cars. The gaze focused on McLaren. After the anthems, the champagne bath and the press conference, Andrea Stella, director of the Woking team, was preparing to give one of the classic notes given after the races, when someone from the team approached him, told him that the interviews had to be postponed and they urgently summoned him to the box.
Jo Bauer was waiting for him there and, later, Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA single-seater director, showed up. The Woking team sealed the entrance to the box with screens that did not allow us to see anything of what was happening inside. The initial rumor pointed only to Norris and a possible lack of fuel for post-race analysis. Each car must finish the competition with at least one liter of gasoline to be confiscated. In the final part of the race, the World Championship leader was asked by radio to slow down to save fuel. That radio talk was not broadcast on official TV, but the commissioners did hear it.
At 11:30 p.m. in Las Vegas, 1 hour and 50 minutes after the competition ended, the first official FIA document came out announcing that both Norris’ and Piastri’s cars had failed the wear check on the rear of the bottom. Neither of the two MCL39s reached the minimum nine millimeters required by article 3.5.9, section E. The technician submitted the report to the commissioners, who three minutes Then they summoned the two drivers, already emissaries from McLaren, to testify at 11:45 p.m.
There was only the officialization of something that had already been sung: exclusion. The jurisprudence left no room for doubt. Lewis Hamilton was excluded from China after the caseback did not meet the nine millimeter rule (it had been given 8.6 millimeters). At 1:42 local time, four hours after the competition ended and after an unjustified and inexplicable delay (it was an element of measurement, not something to interpret), the official report arrived: the two McLarens were left out of the Las Vegas GP. Stella definitively canceled the talk with the media and the team only published a statement.
And the championship took an absolutely unexpected turn. The victory of Max Verstappen followed by Norris had left the difference at 42 points in favor of the Englishman, with 58 at stake. Among them, Piastri, at 30 and with a path too far away to think about great conquests. Lando had his first crown in his pocket, but with the exclusion everything changed.
Norris lost the 18 points of second place and Piastri, the 12 of fourth. Thus, the four-time Red Bull champion will arrive in Qatar next week, at 24 and tied with the Australian! Norris still has an advantage that would allow him to be champion by only finishing third in the two remaining races and in the Losail sprint. With that I would celebrate even if Max won everything. But for Norris to leave Las Vegas with the champion at 24, when he had 42, it could be a blow that brings to light the mental weaknesses that until not long ago surfaced in him.
With the loss of the McLarens, the Las Vegas podium was finally completed by the Mercedes, with George Russell in second place and Kimi Antonelli, third.. The Silver Arrows took a huge step towards their goal of being runners-up in the world among Constructors. In addition, Haas got both cars into the points zone, with Esteban Ocon in ninth place and Oliver Bearman in tenth.
