Lando Norris is annoyed about a mistake at the start and is unhappy with second place in Las Vegas. But now he also loses the 18 points - and the championship battle is suddenly really exciting.
23.11.2025, 09:37
23.11.2025, 11:00
dpa
World championship leader Lando Norris has been disqualified after finishing second in the Grand Prix in Las Vegas due to an infringement of the rules on his McLaren. This has dramatic consequences for the 26-year-old Briton's title chances.
Because Oscar Piastri also lost all his points for the same offense, defending champion Max Verstappen is now level with the Australian in second place and only 24 points behind Norris at the top. A maximum of 58 points are up for grabs at the two remaining race weekends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The two McLaren drivers were penalized because the floor plates on their cars were thinner than the prescribed 9 millimetres, as a measurement after the race in Las Vegas revealed. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton had already been disqualified in China this year for such a breach of the rules on his Ferrari. McLaren can appeal against the decision.
The consequences are dramatic for Norris
The penalty is a major setback for Norris on his way to the first world championship title of his career. Second place in Vegas had earned him 18 points, and with 408 points his lead over second place and Piastri, who finished fourth, had grown to 30 points. Despite the victory, Verstappen was still 42 points behind. Now, however, the four-time world champion is level with Piastri, who has been searching for his form for months, and suddenly has a very real chance of winning his fifth world championship title in a row again.
