LAS VEGAS — The only news anyone was talking about regarding the Las Vegas Grand Prix was the disqualification of both McLaren drivers — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Post-race, the rearmost skid wear on both McLaren MCL39 machines was found to be below the minimum nine milometer thickness by technical delegates on inspection.
The matter was referred to the stewards, who subsequently disqualified both cars from the official result, with Norris having finished second and Piastri fourth.
The stewards’ document stated that the skid blocks on both cars were “measured and found to be below the minimum thickness of nine milometers specified under Article 3.5.9 of the Technical Regulations.”
It continued: “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 relevant measurements were even lower than those measured originally by the Technical Delegate.”
It was also confirmed that McLaren had argued “mitigating circumstances existed in that there was additional and unexpected porpoising at this event, limited opportunity to test due to the weather on Day 1, and shortened practice sessions.”
While the stewards dismissed this, they added “the FIA noted that it strongly held the view that the breach was unintentional and that there was not a deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations.”
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella issued a statement regarding the disqualification
“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,” said Stella.
“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 apologize 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. As a team, we also apologize to our partners and fans, whose support means so much.
“While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season.”
