The 2025 Formula 1 World Championship standings were thrown into disarray following the Las Vegas Grand Prix after both McLaren cars were disqualified due to a technical infringement.
The FIA stewards found that the "measured thickness (of the rearmost skid) was less than 9 mm on both cars," resulting in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being stripped of their finishing positions and all associated points.
This ruling delivered a massive blow to McLaren's points haul from the event and dramatically altered the championship picture heading into the final two rounds. The Woking-based manufacturer will take home zero points from the Las Vegas weekend.
While Max Verstappen’s comfortable victory in Las Vegas remains unchanged, the disqualifications have fundamentally reshaped the title fight. Verstappen has cut Norris’s championship lead by more than half, from 49 to just 24 points, with two races and a sprint event remaining.
Verstappen is now level on points with Piastri as the pair sits 24 points behind Norris, with 58 points still available across the final two Grand Prix weekends.
In the revised drivers' championship, Norris leads with 390 points, followed by Piastri and Verstappen tied at 366. George Russell solidified his fourth place with 294 points, while Charles Leclerc holds fifth with 226.
The Mercedes pairing of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, although mathematically out of the title fight, saw Russell cement fourth place in the championship, while the rookie closes in on Lewis Hamilton for sixth in the standings.
Further down the order, several drivers benefited from the McLaren exodus. In the Williams garage, Carlos Sainz’s promotion to fifth place catapults him up the championship leaderboard, moving him to 11th and putting him in prime position to potentially finish the year in the top 10 in his first season with the team.
Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar continues to impress in his debut Formula 1 season, finishing sixth in Las Vegas and solidifying his ninth place in the standings.
The battle for the middle places is still anyone's guess as rookie Oliver Bearman, veteran Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll are all in realistic contention for 12th in the championship.
Alpine’s woes continue, with Argentine driver Franco Colapinto the only driver on the grid yet to score a championship point since replacing Jack Doohan earlier in the season.
In the constructors' championship, McLaren had already wrapped up the title in Singapore, but the battle for second remains fiercely contested. The double disqualification, however, has narrowed the gap between McLaren and their rivals, though specific updated constructor points were not immediately available.
The championship now moves to its final two rounds with the title fight dramatically reopened. All eyes will be on whether Norris can maintain his reduced advantage or if Verstappen and Piastri can capitalize on McLaren's costly technical violation.
Source: si.com