Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have spoken out following their disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, where both McLaren drivers were penalized after their cars failed technical inspections.
Norris, who initially finished second behind Max Verstappen, and Piastri, who came in fourth, had their results nullified due to excessive wear on the skid blocks, as confirmed by the FIA. This setback has reshuffled the championship standings with just two races remaining.
Currently, Norris leads Piastri and Verstappen by 24 points heading into the upcoming race in Qatar and the season finale in Abu Dhabi. Despite the disappointment, Norris expressed his frustration over losing valuable points and vowed to focus on delivering a strong performance in the next race.
Piastri echoed similar sentiments, acknowledging the team’s oversight in managing skid wear and emphasized the need to regroup for the final two rounds, where they have historically performed well.
McLaren issued an apology to Norris and Piastri for the technical infringement, citing unexpected issues during the race that led to the breach in skid thickness regulations. The team clarified that there was no intentional violation and pledged full dedication to the remaining races.
The FIA scrutineers discovered that the skid planks beneath the McLaren cars were below the required 9mm thickness at the end of the race, resulting in their disqualification. This finding indicated a potential violation of ride height regulations, necessitating the exclusion from the final race classification.