Max Verstappen has a chance for a fifth Formula 1 title in a row.
Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and George Russell on Saturday night. But Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri — who finished fourth — were disqualified in the hours after the race for a rear skid plate violation.
F1 rules allow for a maximum tolerance of wear on the skid plates at the bottom of the cars as teams run their cars as low to the ground as possible for aerodynamic reasons. The rear skid plates on both McLaren cars were below the 9-millimeter minimum.
“During the race, both cars experienced unexpected, high levels of porpoising not seen in the practice sessions, which led to excessive contact with the ground,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said. “We are investigating the reasons for this behaviour of the car, including the effect of accidental damage sustained by both cars, which we found after the race, and that led to an increase of movement of the floor.
“As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed.
“We apologise to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical time in their Championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend.”
After the disqualifications, Verstappen is tied with Piastri in the points standings with 366 and is now just 24 points back of Norris with two grand prix races and a sprint in Qatar to go.
Had both McLaren cars not been disqualified, Norris’ lead over Piastri would have been 30 points and he’d have a 42-point lead over Verstappen.
Drivers get 25 points for a grand prix win and Norris had earned 18 points for second place. In next weekend’s sprint race, the winning driver receives eight points and the driver in eighth receives a point.
If Verstappen wins both grands prix and the sprint while Norris is second in all three, he would gain 15 points. If Norris is third in all three events, Verstappen would gain 22 points.
Verstappen dominated the race
The disqualifications were the most eventful part of Saturday night and Sunday morning following the opening lap.
Verstappen took the lead in the first turn after Norris started on pole. Norris blew the first corner and went wide as Verstappen swooped into the lead. From there, no one challenged Verstappen and he led the rest of the way.
Norris looked to have the pace to challenge Verstappen in the final stages of the race, but dropped off significantly over the final laps. Verstappen won by over 20 seconds.
Gabriel Bortoleto caused a crash at the back of the field in the first corner that forced his own retirement from the race and also caused Lance Stroll to end his race early. Liam Lawson also collided with Piastri and the damage to Lawson’s front wing ruined his chances of a good finish.
A moment of danger then happened at the start of the second lap as track marshals were running off the track to pick up the debris from the early incident as the leaders crossed the start/finish line.
The biggest movers were Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers were eliminated in the first qualifying round on Friday night. Despite a five-second penalty for a false start, Antonelli officially finished third after the disqualifications and gained 14 spots from his 17th-place starting position thanks to a very early pit stop. Hamilton started 19th and finished eighth after he gained six spots on the first lap.
Las Vegas Grand Prix results
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. George Russell, Mercedes
3. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
5. Carlos Sainz, Williams
6. Isack Hadjar, RB
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
8. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
9. Esteban Ocon, Haas
10. Ollie Bearman, Haas
11. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
12. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
13. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
14. Liam Lawson, RB
15. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Not classified: Alex Albon, Williams; Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber; Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
Disqualified: Lando Norris, McLaren; Oscar Piastri, McLaren
