As misjudgments go, McLaren’s error in calculations that led to the disqualification of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Sunday could barely have been more cataclysmic nor more poorly timed. Quite how they got it wrong just when they wanted to close out the drivers’ championship with as little fuss as possible will take no little explanation.
Norris and Piastri, second and fourth respectively to Max Verstappen’s win in Nevada, had been solid enough results until the FIA discovered the skid blocks on their cars had been worn beyond the 9mm limit. In one fell swoop, Verstappen was right back in the fight, alongside Piastri, 24 points back from Norris.
Exactly the sort of proximity to set nerves jangling unnecessarily with two meetings remaining and 58 points up for grabs. Norris still holds the cards, but a single slip, an error, an unwanted contact, a mechanical failure or even another technical infringement and Verstappen could be breathing down his neck in an all or nothing season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Such a prospect was unthinkablewhen he was 104 points behind Piastri after the Dutch GP on the final day of August. But for the miscalculation Norris would have gone into the next round in Qatar with a 30-point lead over Piastri and 42 on Verstappen.
There were, as the team argued, mitigating circumstances, albeit nothing that would change the decision. Teams want to run their cars as close to the ground as possible for aerodynamic efficiency and will push the limits. How they set up their car for this depends on the type of circuit, its speed, its surface, whether it is bumpy and how the car subsequently behaves on it. This process of learning continues as the weekend goes on until the setup is finalised before qualifying.
In Las Vegas, during second practice, vital time was lost to two stoppages and the usual race simulations were not completed, affecting information invaluable to setting up the ride height. The final practice session was wet, when cars behave aerodynamically differently to the dry, not least in not creating nearly as much downforce.
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Come the race, the team were also unexpectedly experiencing the bouncing and bottoming of the car floor that has been a feature of the current ground-effect regulations. All of which added up to excessive wear and a double disqualification.
They were aware, it appears, of how close they were to the edge. Late in the race, Norris was instructed to adopt a lift and coast approach to his driving ie coming off the throttle before the end of the straights. At the time it was assumed there was a need for saving fuel, but it seems it was to minimise wear to the skid block, which the team knew to be on the limit. Norris alluded to this in the statement McLaren issued, stating the race management in the final phase of the race was because of: “issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified”.
All of which raises awkward questions as to why McLaren got it wrong when no other team who were in the same circumstances did? Doubly so given they have such a strong car and were still in such a strong position in the drivers’ championship. Had it occurred early in the season, it would have had plenty of time to be rectified. The timing was terrible with their need to push a margin of error far less urgent than, say, Verstappen’s Red Bull, given he was trying to claw back 49 points.
Norris can still close this out. Outscoring both his rivals by two points in Doha on Saturday where 33 are on offer, would seal it there. Quite how safe he and his team are feeling after this egregious fumble in Las Vegas is another question altogether.
