LAS VEGAS (AP) — A fifth consecutive Formula 1 championship is within Max Verstappen’s reach following the disqualifications of contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Verstappen won the event for the second time in three years to close the gap on Norris to just 42 points with two races remaining. But three hours after the race concluded, the FIA summoned McLaren to see the stewards for failing inspection.
The measured thickness on the skid wear on the McLarens failed to meet the minimum thickness requirements. Skid wear is the wear on the protective plank on the underside of the cars, and Lewis Hamilton was disqualified for the same infraction earlier this year.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the infraction stemmed from the cars bottoming out during the race at levels they did not do during practice — leading to excessive contact with the ground. Stella said the damage to both cars was “accidental” and that “the FIA noted the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed.”
He also apologized to Norris and Piastri.
“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,” Stella said. “While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season.”
The DQ’s made for a wild swing in the standings as both Norris and Piastri were stripped of all points earned in Las Vegas. Norris went from 30 points up on Piastri and 42 points up on Verstappen to just 24 points up on Verstappen and Piastri, who holds the tie-breaker for second in the standings based on his win total.
Verstappen has won the last two races in Qatar, where F1 races next week, and four of the last five at Abu Dhabi, where the season will end Dec. 7.
It’s an incredible comeback for the Dutchman, who seemed out of contention over the summer. Even after winning Las Vegas for the second time in three years, Verstappen wasn’t thinking about the championship.
“I mean, it’s still a big gap. But, you know, we always try to just maximize everything that we’ve got,” he said three hours before the McLarens were called to see the FIA. “ This weekend, that was first. The upcoming weekends we’ll again try to win the race. And at the end of Abu Dhabi, we’ll see where we end up.”
Verstappen was by far the biggest winner in Las Vegas, an event he hated before he’d ever turned in a lap. He won for the second time in four races, second time in three years of the Las Vegas Grand Prix as the four-time reigning Formula 1 champion continued to claw his way back into the title picture with a Saturday night victory on the streets of Las Vegas.
His displeasure with the event has stemmed from the bright spotlight promoters place on celebrities and parties instead of the actual competition. But when it comes time to get in the car, no matter how Verstappen feels about the event, he seems to excel.
“Some people like more show added. Some people like different kinds of tracks as a fan also,” he said. “I also have my opinions about what I like. Some weekends I like more than others. I still like to be in Vegas, but I’m personally less of a showman. I’m not really into that probably. But I get it, you know, it’s part of the calendar. If you’re in Vegas, it needs to be like this.”
Las Vegas was the 69th victory of Verstappen’s career. It was his eighth consecutive podium, F1-record eighth win in the United States, and he beat points leader Norris by more than 20 seconds.
Verstappen started second but took control of the race in the very first turn when Norris made an aggressive move to cut in front of him at the start but wound up sliding wide of the turn in his McLaren.
“I let Max have a win,” Norris lamented. “Let him go. Let him have a nice race. I just braked too late. It was my (mess) up.”
Verstappen moved to the lead and George Russell darted past Norris into second.
“I made the mistake in Turn 1, that cost me,” Norris said. “Sometimes a good result is second and scoring some points. I’ve had a good run and I think the pace was still good. Max just drove a good race and they were quick. I made the mistake in Turn 1, you know, you’ve got to be punchy into Turn 1.
“I was just a bit too punchy, you know, and that cost me.”
It was the 150th career start for Norris, which tied the McLaren record with David Coulthard. He will become McLaren’s most tenured driver next week in Qatar with his 151th start.
But after his slip in the first turn, Norris found himself stuck back in third, and teammate Piastri fared no better as the Australian lost two spots on the start to drop from fifth to seventh. The two McLaren drivers have swapped the lead in the driver standings all season.
Norris finished second before the disqualification and Russell was third. Russell moved to second.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes crossed the finish line in fourth but a penalty dropped him a spot to fifth, which moved Piastri to fourth before the disqualification. Antonelli is now third.
Piastri has not won since the final day of August at the Dutch Grand Prix and has just one podium finish in the seven races since. He seemed to accept that his title chances are slipping away.
“I don’t really know what to think, to be honest. The first lap was eventful, to say the least,” Piastri said. “It is what it is. I think I’m going to try my best, obviously, for the next two races and try to put myself in the best position possible. There’s still a lot of laps left to go, a lot can still happen, but I need to make sure that I’m in the best position to capitalize if that happens.
“That’s all I can do now, so I’ll set my sights on that and see how we go.”
The biggest mover of the race was seven-time world champion Hamilton, who qualified 20th in Ferrari’s first last-place qualifying result since 2009. He actually started 19th and immediately gained six spots. Hamilton steadily picked his way through the field and finished eighth, once the disqualifications took effect.
Charles Leclerc was credited with fourth for Ferrari as he and Hamilton both finished in the points one race after both failed to finish in Brazil, which drew criticism from Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann.
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