A Tiny Thickness, a Big Blow: McLaren Sanctioned After the Las Vegas F1 Shock

What happened in Las Vegas

In the Las Vegas Grand Prix, British driver Lando Norris finished second, raising hopes for a world championship bid, only for McLaren to be stunned by a post-race decision: Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri were disqualified for a technical breach related to the wear of the wooden floorboard beneath the cars.

The race was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who dominated from the start in the Las Vegas street circuit. Norris had been challenging for the lead and closing the gap in the championship before the sanction changed the outcome of the weekend.

The technical violation explained

Inspection found that Norris’s car, as well as Piastri’s, showed wear on the floorboard exceeding the 9 mm threshold in several locations. The floorboards must be 10 mm thick when installed, and wear beyond the limit qualifies as a violation, potentially making the car illegal for the race.

McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella apologized in a statement, saying that both Norris and Piastri had experienced unusual jolts and ground contact during the race. The team maintained the breach was unintentional, and the FIA conducted a second set of measurements with McLaren representatives present before confirming the disqualification.

Experts noted that modern F1 cars are designed to maintain a strict ground clearance to ensure consistent grip, and the analysis suggested a combination of race conditions, weather, and limited practice could have contributed to the wear. Still, the rule is clear: a technical fault, even if inadvertent, can erase a result.

Impact on the title chase

Verstappen’s win extended his early lead and tightened the gap in the drivers’ standings with two races left in the season. Norris dropped from second to a position that reshuffled the podium and the championship picture, while Piastri’s result was wiped from the race as well.

The incident highlighted how a 1 mm discrepancy in floorboard wear could decide a grand prix, with McLaren apologizing to Norris, Piastri, and fans and committing to learn from the episode.

As the FIA’s investigation concluded, the governing body reaffirmed that any floor irregularity that does not adhere to the 9 mm limit is grounds for exclusion, a rule designed to ensure fairness and structural integrity across all teams.

Post-race, Verstappen finished the 50-lap, 309.958 km event in 1:21:08.429, ahead of Norris by 20.741 seconds and last year’s champion Russell by 23.546 seconds.

Punchline time: If 1 mm separates a winner from a loser, maybe we should start timing pit stops with a micrometer. And if the car wears out that fast, perhaps the trophy should come with a warranty and a map to the nearest tire shop.