An unnecessary risk that jeopardizes the title
McLaren has made one of the most costly mistakes of the season at the worst possible time. At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, both of the team's drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified for breaching FIA technical regulations. A minor flaw in the floor plank of the car, which did not meet the minimum 9mm thickness stipulated by the rules, ended up ruining a crucial weekend in the championship battle.
Photo: F1
In the post-race technical inspection, Norris’ car were 8.88mm at the right-hand side front and 8.93mm at the right-hand side rear, while for Piastri, they were 8.96mm at the left-hand side front, 8.74mm at the right-hand side front and 8.90mm at the right-hand side rear.
With these measurements, both cars were in breach of regulations, and the penalty was immediate. A similar situation occurred earlier in the season with Lewis Hamilton at the Chinese Grand Prix, but the impact in this case is much more significant.
The error comes at a critical time: Norris and Piastri are directly battling for the title against Max Verstappen, who took the victory in Las Vegas and is closing the gap in the standings. With the double disqualification, Verstappen is back in the thick of the fight, equaling Piastri with 366 points and just 24 points behind Norris, with 58 points still up for grabs.
The problem was there since Friday
The most serious issue for McLaren is that the problem could have been avoided. From the first practice session, both Norris and Piastri warned the team about the car's excessive bounce. The Las Vegas track, already known for its uneven surface, increased the bouncing and caused greater wear on the plank. Even so, the team decided to maintain the aggressive setup, seeking to maximize performance and ended up paying the price.
It's clear that the changing weather during the sessions and the limited practice time due to red and yellow flags may have prevented the team from testing different configurations. But by Sunday's race, it was impossible to change the setup, even though they realized the problem from the formation lap. By lap 5, the engineers were focused on having their drivers execute a lift-and-coast strategy to minimize the damage. This strategy was attempted, but ultimately, it didn't work.
Since its debut in 2023, Las Vegas has been a challenging circuit for McLaren: they have recorded one retirement, two disqualifications, a sixth and seventh place finish, and a tenth place. This year, despite being in contention for the podium, their strategy once again leaned towards risk, with devastating consequences.
The Ghost of 2007
McLaren has already secured the constructors' championship, but the internal battle for the world title between its two drivers inevitably brings to mind 2007, when Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso let the championship slip away and Kimi Räikkönen ended up being crowned champion. History threatens to repeat itself.
Lando Norris has already lost 36 points due to team negligence: the DNF at Zandvoort and the disqualification in Las Vegas. This doesn't even take into account the points lost due to repeated slow pit stops. Meanwhile, Piastri has conceded 3 points for giving up the position at Monza plus 12 points in Vegas. These statistics exclude points lost due to the drivers' own errors. But it's very clear that McLaren has been one of the main causes of points losses for its drivers.
Into Qatar
The next stop is Qatar, a circuit theoretically favorable to McLaren. Norris maintains a 24-point lead over Piastri and Verstappen. If he manages to score at least two more points than either of them, he could be crowned world champion.
But the situation is fragile. At this stage, any mistake, a DNF, a poor strategy, or, as in Las Vegas, a technical disqualification could hand the title directly to Verstappen. McLaren has already taken too many risks, and with two races remaining, they have no room for error.
McLaren is the team that should be avoiding taking so many risks at this point in the season.
