McLaren’s car is now ‘compromised’ for the Qatar Grand Prix after Las Vegas disqualifications

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McLaren revived Max Verstappen’s world championship hopes with a double disqualification at last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. The FIA found excessive skid block wear on both cars.

Lando Norris, who had crossed the line third, remains 24 points clear at the top. But he would have been 30 ahead of Oscar Piastri (originally P4) if the result had stood.

Race winner Verstappen has now entirely wiped out the gap to Piastri in second. The upcoming Qatar Grand Prix features a Sprint race, which means there are an extra eight points on offer.

McLaren have expressed confidence about their Qatar prospects, having dominated the Sprint section of the weekend last year. But somewhat ominously, it was Verstappen who won the main race at Lusail.

McLaren will have to be extra cautious with their car at Qatar Grand Prix

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, former F1 designer Gary Anderson explained how the disqualification would affect the McLaren car at the final two races. They will need to be more ‘cautious’ than usual.

The obvious change is raising their car’s ride height to protect the plank, a measure Ferrari had to take after they were thrown out of the Chinese GP in March. This will cost them downforce and, as a result, lap time.

But beyond that, they will have to give themselves more margin on fuel and open up the car’s cooling vents. A further penalty or a retirement at this stage of the season could decisively swing the race in Verstappen’s favour.

The upshot is that Norris and Piastri are ‘slightly compromised’ at the next two weekends as the team try to avoid ‘one of the worst collapses in F1 history’.

By contrast, Verstappen is bound to be as aggressive as possible. Red Bull think McLaren are vulnerable to pressure due to their inexperience – they haven’t won a championship double in the 21st century.

George Russell expects Max Verstappen to be rapid in Qatar

According to Auto Motor und Sport, George Russell expects Lusail to be a ‘Red Bull track’. He’s basing this on their performances at Suzuka and Silverstone – two similar circuits where Verstappen took poles.

Still, even if Norris can finish second to Verstappen in both races, his lead would be a healthy 16 points heading to Abu Dhabi. The concern is drivers from other teams getting in the mix, or the kind of penalty/mechanical issue Anderson mentions.

Norris retired from the Dutch GP with a chassis problem, but that remains his only car failure since Brazil 2022. Piastri hasn’t had one since Austin 2023.