When Lando Norris crossed the finish line in second place at the 2025 Las Vegas Grand PrixLas Vegas Strip Circuit on November 23, 2025, he thought he’d solidified his championship lead. Instead, he was handed a crushing blow: both his and teammate Oscar Piastri’s McLaren Racing Limited cars were disqualified for violating the 9mm minimum rear skid block thickness rule. The news dropped hours after the checkered flag, turning celebration into silence in the McLaren garage. It wasn’t just a loss of points—it was a seismic shift in the 2025 F1 title race.
What Went Wrong With the Skid Blocks?
The FIA’s technical delegates found both McLaren MCL39 cars had rear skid blocks measuring below 9mm—some as low as 7.2mm. That’s not just borderline. It’s a clear breach of Article 3.5.9 e) of the 2025 technical regulations. The skid block, a wooden plank beneath the car, is meant to limit ground effect and prevent teams from running too low to the track. Wear is expected, but not to this degree. "The measurements were even lower than those originally obtained by the technical delegate," stewards noted in their report. That’s unusual. Teams typically know their wear patterns. This wasn’t gradual erosion—it looked like sudden, uneven degradation.McLaren argued the issue stemmed from "unexpected porpoising"—a violent bouncing motion that intensified on the bumpy Las Vegas Strip. They claimed limited track time due to weather delays and possible floor damage from a minor contact. But the stewards weren’t buying it. "No regulation permits penalty cancellation based on car behavior or environmental factors," they wrote. In other words: if your car wears the skid block too fast, you fix it before the race. Not after.
The Championship Domino Effect
Before the disqualification, Norris led Piastri by 30 points and Verstappen by 42. He’d just extended his lead after a masterful recovery from a first-lap mistake that dropped him behind Max Verstappen and George Russell. Now? His lead is down to 24 points over both Piastri and Verstappen—with just 58 points left across the final two races and a sprint event in Qatar."We had to do some managing towards the end of the race," Norris said quietly after the hearing. "And now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified." His voice carried the weight of someone who’d been this close to the title, only to have it slip through his fingers—not by mistake on track, but by a technicality.
McLaren issued a public apology to both drivers. "We let them down," said team principal Andreas Seidl. "This isn’t just about points. It’s about trust. They raced their hearts out, and we let them down with the car." The team’s internal review is ongoing, but early signs point to a floor mounting issue that wasn’t caught in pre-race checks.
A Pattern of Skid Block Troubles in 2025
This wasn’t an isolated incident. It was the fifth and sixth disqualification of the season. At the 2025 Chinese Grand PrixShanghai, Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly were disqualified for being 1kg underweight. Lewis Hamilton lost sixth place at the same race for excessive skid block wear. Then, just two races later, Russell’s Mercedes was found 1.5kg underweight at the Miami Grand Prix—handing Hamilton his 105th win.There’s a chilling symmetry here. Hamilton himself was the last driver to lose a podium due to skid block wear—back in 2023 at the United States Grand PrixAustin. That’s when Norris inherited second place. Now, history’s flipped. The same rule that gave Norris a podium two years ago took one away from him.
What’s Next for the Championship?
The title battle is now a three-way knife fight. Norris can’t clinch the championship in Qatar’s sprint race anymore—he needs to finish ahead of both Verstappen and Piastri in Abu Dhabi, and hope they don’t score maximum points. Verstappen, meanwhile, is suddenly the favorite. He’s only 24 points back, and Red Bull’s RB21 has been the most consistent car since Monaco.Piastri’s chances are mathematically alive but practically slim. He’s tied with Verstappen on points, but without the same race-winning pace. The pressure is now on McLaren to fix the MCL39’s floor rigidity before the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. One more technical failure—and the season could collapse.
Why This Matters Beyond the Points Table
This isn’t just about who wins the championship. It’s about the integrity of F1’s technical rules. Teams are pushing aerodynamic limits harder than ever. The skid block isn’t just a compliance tool—it’s the last line of defense against unsafe, unregulated downforce. When multiple teams fail it in one season, it signals a systemic issue: either the regulations are too narrow, or teams are gaming the system."We’re seeing a new kind of racing," said former FIA technical director Pat Symonds in a recent interview. "Teams are trading reliability for performance. And when the rules are this tight, one tiny miscalculation can cost you everything. That’s the beauty—and the brutality—of F1."
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the skid block rule work in Formula 1?
The skid block is a 10mm-thick wooden plank under the car’s chassis, designed to limit ground effect and prevent teams from running too close to the track. By regulation, it must retain at least 9mm of thickness after the race. If it wears below that, the car is disqualified. It’s a simple, physical check—no sensors, no assumptions. Just measurement.
Why did McLaren’s cars wear so quickly in Las Vegas?
McLaren blamed porpoising and possible floor damage from minor contact, but stewards found no evidence of accident-related impact. The deeper issue may be a mounting system that couldn’t handle the unique bumps of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit. The MCL39’s floor has been under stress since Monza, and the team admitted to limited testing due to weather—meaning they didn’t validate the setup under race conditions.
Can Lando Norris still win the 2025 championship?
Yes, but it’s now a two-race climb. Norris must finish ahead of both Verstappen and Piastri in Qatar’s sprint and Abu Dhabi’s main race, and hope neither scores maximum points. He can’t clinch the title in Qatar—only in Abu Dhabi. With 58 points left, even a single DNF or penalty could end his hopes.
Has this ever happened before in F1 history?
Yes. In 2023, Lewis Hamilton lost second place at the U.S. Grand Prix due to skid block wear, handing it to Norris. In 2019, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was disqualified from Monaco for a similar violation. But never before has a team lost two podium finishes in one race due to skid block failure. This is unprecedented in the modern era of F1.
What’s the impact on McLaren’s 2026 car development?
McLaren’s 2026 car design is already in advanced stages. The skid block failure will force a redesign of the rear floor mounting system to improve rigidity. Engineers are now reviewing every fastener and composite layer that connects the floor to the chassis. This could delay aerodynamic upgrades for next season if they’re forced to revert to a more conservative design.
Who benefits most from Norris’s disqualification?
Max Verstappen. He went from 42 points behind to just 24 behind with two races left. He’s now the favorite, not just because of his car’s pace, but because McLaren’s error has given him psychological momentum. Plus, Red Bull’s reliability has been flawless since Singapore. Norris’s mistake didn’t cost him the race—it cost him the title.
