Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri’s belated disqualifications from the Las Vegas Grand Prix will have huge ramifications on the F1 title race
Max Verstappen’s win at Sunday’s Las Vegas Grand Prix promises to be even more profitable after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were retroactively disqualified from the race. Norris entered the race sat 24 points clear of McLaren team-mate Piastri in the drivers’ standings coming to Sin City, with Max Verstappen another 25 points behind in third place.
Red Bull superstar Verstappen closed the gap on Norris to 42 points after pipping the Briton to the top prize in Vegas, where Piastri settled for fourth. However, Verstappen has now moved level with Piastri in the runner-up spot as a result of McLaren’s double disqualification, leaving Norris 24 points ahead with only two races left to run this year, plus one sprint race. The McLaren duo were summoned before the stewards shortly after Sunday’s race came to a head. Eyebrows were raised when FIA technical chief Joe Bauer seemed to examine Norris and Piastri’s cars longer than usual. It was then confirmed this was because the skid block under each of their MCL39 cars was found to have been below the minimum nine millimetre thickness, meaning both of their results were scrapped.
Verstappen was already on a high after successfully overtaking pole-sitter Norris to take first place. But his day went from great to outstanding when it became clear both McLaren drivers were in trouble for excessive wear to the skid block.
It’s also great news for Mercedes as George Russell is promoted to second place having initially crossed the line third in Vegas. And his young team-mate, Kimi Antonelli, moved up to third place, celebrating his third podium finish in a whirlwind debut F1 campaign.
The odds are still against Verstappen with a maximum of only 58 points to win this season. The calendar quickly moves onto the Qatar Grand Prix next Sunday, where there will also be a sprint race rewarding up to eight points, before the season wraps up in Abu Dhabi the following weekend.
Red Bull’s reigning champion would still need Norris to drop a significant amount of points in order to fulfil his dream of toppling the 26-year-old. However, Sunday’s post-race developments have given him a fighting chance, to say the least.
Verstappen has won each of the last two editions of the Qatar Grand Prix, as well as four of the last five Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, Norris is the reigning titleholder at Yas Marina.
The Dutchman would retain his crown if, for example, he were to win the final two races of the campaign, as well as next week’s sprint, while Norris struggled to podium in both. Alternatively, the title race would be blown wide open if Norris has one more disqualification or DNF, having been forced to retire from two races earlier in the year.
It’s also very possible a tiebreaker could come into play should Verstappen and Norris finish level on points. In that event, the title would be decided on which driver has more race wins, with Norris just holding the edge on seven victories (level with Piastri) to Verstappen’s six as things stand.
It means the cards still lie in Norris’ favour thanks to his earlier work this season, having podiumed in each of the last five races (prior to Sunday’s DQ). However, Verstappen’s streak of eight consecutive podium finishes, a run that includes four race victories, has cranked up the pressure on McLaren’s leader with only a couple of stages to go.
New F1 Drivers’ Championship standings (Points)
1. Lando Norris – McLaren (390)
2. Oscar Piastri – McLaren (366)
3. Max Verstappen – Red Bull (366)
4. George Russell – Mercedes (294)
5. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari (226)
