Norris hit by McLaren’s huge screw-up but one move can save F1 title

 The first sign that something was amiss, under the bamboozling lightshow that is the Las Vegas strip, came in the final three laps. Out of nowhere, why was Lando Norris’s pace dropping off at a rate of knots? Safely in second place, seven seconds behind the race leader, Norris eventually finished 23 seconds off Max Verstappen. Now, we know why.

Norris’s shock disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, announced just after 1.30am local time, has handed his F1 title rivals the biggest of reprieves. Ironically, the double McLaren DSQ – with Oscar Piastri’s race result wiped out for the same reason, excessive plank wear on the car – is a much-needed saving grace for the Australian. His deficit was 30 points; now it’s back to the original 24 points.

But by a country mile the biggest beneficiary is Verstappen: a man and a driver whose refusal to surrender has breathed new life into this helter-skelter title fight. A terrific win from second on the grid in Vegas, coupled with nada on the points tally for the McLaren pair, means he is now level on points with Piastri – a man he was 104 points short of as recently as seven races ago.

No doubt, it will be the irrepressible Dutchman chasing a fifth consecutive title who Norris seriously fears now, as opposed to teammate Piastri.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella apologised to his drivers in a statement afterwards, having cancelled his customary post-race written media session amid the commotion in the stewards’ room. A source has told The Independent that McLaren personnel were pleading their case for more than an hour, such was the magnitude of the verdict at this stage of the season. Inevitably, to no avail.

The papaya-clad team argued that unexpected porpoising – the phenomenon first seen in 2022 where cars violently bounce up and down on the straights – along with wet running on Thursday night and shortened practice sessions were mitigating circumstances for their cars falling foul of hyper-specific F1 technical regulations.

All valid reasons – but these are black-and-white regulations. The minimum thickness for the skid plank below the car cannot fall below the 9mm threshold. Post-race scrutineering, double-checked, saw Norris’s car 0.12mm over the limit and Piastri’s 0.26mm. In reality, it’s the width of a human hair. But in a sport decided by marginal gains – every millisecond counts in the world of Formula One – it’s significant enough and was a slam-dunk illegal car.

“A frustrating end to today,” Norris said, in quotes provided by McLaren deep into the Vegas night. “We had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car.

"It’s frustrating to lose so many points. As a team, we’re always pushing to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn’t get that balance right today.”

And in that latter remark lies the inexcusable basis for McLaren’s double exclusion. The regulations are in place so teams don’t run their cars too close to the ground, from both a safety standpoint for the drivers and a performance benefit for the cars. All teams have to find the balance, and this weekend McLaren screwed-up in search of performance.

TOP-3 – F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 390 points

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 366 points

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 366 points

And it is an all-time screw-up, at crunch time in the race for the title. Lewis Hamilton has also been disqualified twice in the last two years – once with Mercedes in 2023, once for Ferrari in March – for identical mechanical irregularities. Both took place on a sprint-race weekend which, with more meaningful sessions, are the primary excuse for plank-wear.

But McLaren don’t even have that to point to this time around. At this stage of the season, it is simply indefensible that they would take a too-aggressive approach on the ride height, given what is at stake. In Austin last month, they were too conservative on their ride height after losing out on data from sprint race retirements. In Vegas, they put it all on red, and it came up black.

It is a crushing blow for the rejuvenated Norris, who had one hand on the championship trophy. Of course, 24 points is still a sizable advantage and, sprint race dependent, a win in Qatar next Sunday could seal a maiden title for the 26-year-old from Bristol. But now it’s not just Piastri breathing down his neck.

The shark-like Verstappen can taste blood. He’ll be the one leaving Sin City feeling like he’s hit the jackpot. If McLaren somehow squander the drivers’ title from here, Vegas will undoubtedly be the cataclysmic turning point they look back on.

Is it now, with two rounds and 58 points left on the table, that they finally decide to take the plunge and prioritise Norris? It won’t be – but it should be.

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