McLaren drivers facing potential Las Vegas GP disqualification!

McLaren’s standout Las Vegas Grand Prix may be wiped from the record books after the team’s representatives were summoned to the stewards on suspicion of running cars that breached Formula 1’s strict plank-wear regulations.

What had looked like another productive day from the team under the lights of the Strip – with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing respectively P2 and P4 – could instead be rewritten as one of the most damaging technical violations of the modern era.

Initial checks carried out after the race flagged that both MCL60s failed to meet the minimum thickness requirement for the rear skid block.

Under Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2025 technical rules, the plank must measure 10mm ± 0.2mm when new, with stewards allowing no less than 9mm after race wear. Exceeding that threshold is one of the sport’s most unforgiving infractions—and it almost always leads to disqualification.

A Season Already Defined by Scrutineering Shocks

If the stewards confirm the breach, McLaren’s drivers would become the fifth and sixth competitors stripped of results this year.

The 2025 season has already been marred by a spate of post-race exclusions: three cars were thrown out in Shanghai for running 1kg below the minimum weight, including both Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly, while Lewis Hamilton also lost his Chinese Grand Prix finish for excessive skid-block wear.

In Bahrain, Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber suffered the same fate when his rear skid block failed the thickness check—another reminder that the FIA has remained uncompromising on plank-wear enforcement.

But a Las Vegas disqualification would carry an even heavier sting. Norris’ runner-up finish was one of the highest-profile results put under threat by a technical breach in recent memory.

• Read also: Piastri concedes title bid now out of his hands after Las Vegas GP

The last time a podium scorer was removed for such an infraction was two years ago, when George Russell lost his 2024 Belgian Grand Prix victory after his Mercedes came in 1.5kg underweight.

Mercedes had already been through the ordeal in 2023, when his team-mate Hamilton lost a United States Grand Prix podium for the same skid-block violation now looming over McLaren.

Championship Stakes on the Line

The timing of McLaren’s rule breach – if confirmed – could hardly be worse. Norris’ second place strengthened his title campaign, while Piastri’s fourth helped maintain pressure in the standings.

A dual disqualification would detonate that progress, handing major points to rivals and dramatically improving Max Verstappen’s title bid.

For now, McLaren waits – its fate in the hands of the stewards, its Las Vegas triumph frozen under suspicion, and its season potentially about to take a devastating turn.

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