Lando Norris arrived at the F1 Las Vegas GP as the Championship leader, left the race still with the upper hand in the standings, but only after a bruising night that saw a podium finish turn into a disqualification hours after the chequered flag. What began as a damage-limiting P2 on a difficult evening for McLaren unravelled when both Norris and Oscar Piastri were thrown out of the classification for excessive plank wear — a technical infraction with no room for interpretation in the FIA regulations.
The Briton had already cut a subdued figure in the post-race press conference, openly frustrated by the pace deficit to Max Verstappen and by a late-race issue that forced him into extreme management. But the full extent of McLaren’s troubles only emerged later, once the FIA confirmed that both cars breached Technical Regulations Article 3.5.9 relating to skid-block thickness.
A compromised race from the start
Norris’s evening had begun with promise after securing pole position in Friday’s wet and chaotic qualifying session. But as the lights went out in much drier conditions, his advantage evaporated almost immediately. He ran wide at Turn 1 and dropped to third, later admitting the mistake was entirely his own.
“I messed up Turn 1—it was pretty poor from me,” Norris said. “I just braked too late. So yeah, it was all on me, pretty poor from myself. But even if I came out in P1 out of Turn 1, we were not quick enough today. Same as Brazil. Max has done a very good job and the Red Bull is very quick. They deserve the win today. They were in another league compared to us.”
From there, Norris was left managing a McLaren that lacked the outright pace needed to challenge Verstappen. He fought to cling onto P2, wrestling with balance issues and cooling concerns, while teammate Oscar Piastri recovered strongly from early incidents behind.
Despite the struggles, he could still reflect on McLaren’s progress at a circuit that had historically exposed the car’s weaknesses.
“Of course,” he said when asked if the team could be satisfied with their step forward in Las Vegas. “We still know there are certain corners here and certain characteristics that are really not good for us. But we still finished second. It’s not like it’s the end of the world. We just have high standards and we want to win… We come to every race to try and win. So when we don’t win, we’re not very happy.”
Late-race crisis
With two laps to go, the tension grew visible. Norris’s times plummeted as he was ordered by the team to “lift and coast” — a phrase that immediately triggered speculation of a fuel-related issue, as had happened earlier in the season.
Asked to explain the dramatic slowdown, Norris said:
“I think there was just some issues with the car, the team were telling me on the radio. So, yeah. Just had to back off a bit.”
When pressed further on the suspected fuel concerns, he revealed how close he had come to losing P2 entirely.
“I’m pretty thankful George was also having issues. Otherwise, today would have been even worse… I don’t know if the sensor was saying things it shouldn’t have been or what, or we just used more than expected. I don’t know the full extent, I need to go and see the team… It was more I was just annoyingly listening to what they were telling me to do, which was losing a lot of pace, and, yeah, certainly didn’t help in the chance to try and attack Max a bit more.”
He crossed the line 17.7 seconds behind Verstappen, after being just 10 seconds down moments earlier, but crucially held off Russell’s Mercedes by under three seconds.
His 18th podium of the season in 22 races looked like another valuable step toward the title.
Within hours, it was gone.
McLaren fall foul of skid-block regulations
Post-race scrutineering revealed that both McLarens failed the mandatory plank-wear check. Measurements taken on the rear skids of both cars showed thickness below the minimum 9 mm required by Article 3.5.9.
The FIA stated:
“The measured thickness was less than 9 mm on both cars… The rear skids were re-measured in the presence of the Stewards and the three McLaren representatives, and those measurements confirmed that the skids did not comply with the regulations.”
The stewards added that the further measurements were “even lower” than the original checks.
McLaren argued that unusual circumstances, including disrupted practice sessions, limited running, and unexpected porpoising, contributed to the excessive wear. But the FIA ruled that the regulations left no discretion.
“The Stewards determine that Article 3.5.9… has been breached and therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement.”
Norris fell from P2 to a non-classified result, as did Piastri from P4 to the same fate. All points from the event were lost.
“Frustrating… Nothing I can do will change that”
In the aftermath of the penalty, Norris issued a short but pointed statement addressing the disappointment:
“A frustrating end to today. 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, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified. 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. Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar, where we’ll aim to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session.”
What had been a 42-point Championship lead shrank dramatically. Now just 24 points separate him from Verstappen with two weekends to go.
Title pressure? Norris says no — for now
Despite the changing complexion of the title fight, Norris insisted earlier in the evening that he felt no additional stress heading into what will now be his first chance to clinch the World Championship in Qatar.
“No,” he said when asked if he dared to dream. “I’m just pretty disappointed with today. So, no. I look forward to Qatar… enjoy a few days off, and do everything we can to try and win in Qatar.”
Pressed later about how he will approach a weekend where the title is on the line, he remained cautious.
“I guess I’ve never been in that position before… Nothing feels different now, even though that is the opportunity I’m entering into. I treat it the same. I treat it like I want to go and win… My goal is to win both races to the end of the season, and the Sprint as well. So I’ll try and win all three.”
Looking ahead: Qatar becomes decisive
What should have been another stable step toward Norris’s first world title has instead tightened the championship narrative dramatically. The McLaren driver leaves Las Vegas empty-handed from a race where he stood on the podium just hours earlier — and now arrives in Qatar with the pressure significantly increased.
But his message remains consistent: focus forward, not back.
He will need every ounce of that mindset as the season enters its final stretch.
