McLaren drivers issue response to 'frustrating' double Las Vegas GP disqualification

McLaren F1 stars Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have issued statements regarding their disqualifications from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Having crossed the line second and fourth respectively last weekend, the two McLaren cars were inspected by FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer after the race, and found to have excessive wear on their skid blocks, above the legal limit.

It was later decided that they would both be disqualified from the race, wiping their results from the record and allowing Max Verstappen - who had won the race - back into the championship fight.

Verstappen is now just 24 points behind Norris with two race weekends remaining, and the Dutchman is level on points with Piastri as the three drivers battle hard to become champion.

McLaren issued a team statement in the early hours of Sunday morning (PST) apologising to both of their drivers for the disqualifications, but now Norris and Piastri have given their thoughts.

In a McLaren press release following the race, Norris said: "A frustrating end to today. We had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified.

"It’s frustrating to lose so many points. As a team, we’re always pushing to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn’t get that balance right today.

"Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar, where we'll aim to go out and deliver the best possible performance in every session."

Meanwhile, Australian racer Piastri added: "Disappointing to come away from this weekend with no points after an unfortunate disqualification due to skid wear. With how close the grid is, we’re always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn’t get it right this time.

"We now need to reset, refocus and push to get the best points possible in the final two rounds, both tracks that we've been strong at previously."

Who will win the championship?

With one of the remaining weekends being a sprint race weekend with enhanced points, there are now 58 points still available to claim before the season ends.

Piastri is actually closer to his team-mate following the disqualifications, with the original Vegas race result seeing Norris take a 30-point lead over the 24-year-old and having one hand on the drivers' championship trophy.

Norris is still the favourite with that 24-point buffer, but the worry for him and McLaren will be that four-time world champion Verstappen is now the driver within 24 points, and he will smell a chance of a fifth consecutive world title.

Both Piastri and Verstappen are within one grand prix result of the championship lead, and it will be intriguing to see how that plays on Norris' confidence next time out at the Qatar GP.

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