Autobayng News Team
McLaren have apologised to drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the pair were disqualified from today’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The duo were originally classified second and fourth respectively in today’s race. However their MCL39s failed post-race legality checks and were disqualified.
Both lost significant ground in their championship fight with Max Verstappen, who won the race. Verstappen has now drawn level with Piastri and more than halved his deficit to Norris, who leads the pair by 24 points.
“We apologise 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,” said team principal Andrea Stella in a statement issued by McLaren after the decision was announced. “As a team, we also apologise to our partners and fans, whose support means so much.”
The two McLarens were excluded because the legality planks on the underside of their cars had worn beyond the 9mm minimum thickness. Stella pointed out the FIA stewards stated there had been no attempt by the team to intentionally circumvent the rules.
“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.”
“While this outcome is extremely disappointing, we remain fully focused on the last two races of the season,” added Stella.
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