Norris and Piastri Face Disqualification Risk Over Excessive F1 Car Plank Wear

Update: McLaren has been disqualified twice from the Las Vegas Grand Prix after both of its Formula 1 vehicles did not satisfy the minimum t...

Update: McLaren has been disqualified twice from the Las Vegas Grand Prix after both of its Formula 1 vehicles did not satisfy the minimum thickness standard for the rear skid block.Full story.

McLarenhas been called before the Formula 1 officials as both of its vehicles are suspected to have violated the regulations regarding excessive wear on the skid blocks following the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The MCL39s of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastriwere unable to satisfy the thickness standard for the rear skid block following their respective positions of second and fourth on Saturday night.

It refers to Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2025 F1 technical regulations, which specifies "the thickness of the plank assembly measured perpendicular to the lower surface must be 10mm ± 0.2mm and must be consistent when new."

The Article states, 'A thickness of at least 9mm will be considered acceptable because of wear, and compliance with this requirement will be verified around the edges of the specified holes.'

It remains unclear whether McLaren has fallen short of the thickness requirement, and to what extent, but the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix demonstrated that it typically leads to disqualification.

That’s because the Sauber of Nico Hulkenbergalso did not satisfy the minimum thickness standard for the rear skid block, which led to the German losing his 13th place finish.

If this were to occur, it would have major consequences for the title race, as the preliminary results from Vegas placed championship leader Norris 30 points ahead of Piastri.

It would fall to 24 if both McLaren cars were disqualified, but more importantly, the chances of a fifth straight title for the Vegas winner.Max Verstappen will increase.

The gap between the Red Bull driver and Norris is currently 42, but this would decrease to 24. A double disqualification would also place Verstappen tied with Piastri.

A withdrawal would also causeMercedes' George Russellup to second place in the Las Vegas ranking, while teammateAndrea Kimi Antonelliwould secure a third podium in 2025.

This would mark the fifth and sixth penalties of the 2025 season following Hulkenberg's violation, along with three occurrences during the second round in Shanghai.

Those occurred because of the vehicles ofCharles Leclerc and Pierre Gaslywere 1kg lighter than expected, indicating they finished fifth and eleventh at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, came in sixth but was disqualified due to excessive damage on his rear skid block.

However, none of those incidents resulted in a driver missing out on a podium finish as significantly as Norris's disqualification in Vegas, the last occurrence of which was at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.

Russell was the first to cross the line in a Mercedes 1-2 alongside Hamilton, but his vehicle was found to be 1.5kg below the required weight during post-race inspections, resulting in the seven-time world champion securing his 105th and latest grand prix win.

Another instance is the 2023 United States Grand Prix, where a driver was removed from second place because Hamilton's Mercedes had too much rear skid block wear, resulting in Norris being declared the winner on that occasion.

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