McLaren’s Las Vegas Grand Prix disqualification is actually good for Oscar Piastri’s title chances

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Oscar Piastri looks to have suffered yet another blow in his quest to become the 2025 F1 champion after his disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but it may not be as bad as some think.

The Aussie initially finished the race in fifth after a difficult qualifying and contact with Liam Lawson at turn one. Piastri struggled to catch Kimi Antonelli and mount a challenge to George Russell ahead.

He was elevated to P4 after Antonelli was hit with a five-second penalty. McLaren teammate Lando Norris finished second to Max Verstappen on the streets of Las Vegas after losing the lead at the start.

However, after an investigation from the FIA, Norris and Piastri were disqualified for excessive plank wear. The pair exceeded the limit by 0.12mm and 0.26mm respectively.

McLaren reacted to the DSQ as they walked away from the Las Vegas Grand Prix with no points. Many may see this as particularly damaging for Piastri, who has been struggling to perform in recent races, with one podium in the last seven events.

Jenson Button has suggested that Piastri’s title hopes are over, as he thinks Norris considers Verstappen as his main rival. But heading into the Qatar Grand Prix, he will want to watch his mirrors for his McLaren teammate.

Oscar Piastri’s DSQ in Las Vegas is good news for his title chances – he will have the advantage in Qatar

If the McLarens were not disqualified in Las Vegas, Norris would have a 30-point lead over Piastri and would be 42 points ahead of Verstappen. He would have had a comfortable advantage in Qatar to seal the title.

That still stands after the DSQ, with Norris leading Piastri and Verstappen by 24 points – beating both of them in Qatar would wrap up the title. But the Lusail International Circuit has favoured one McLaren driver more than the other, and it is not Norris.

It is well-known that Piastri has had major problems on low-grip circuits, which have damaged his title charge due to consecutive races at these tracks. Qatar is a return to high-grip, high-temperature tracks, which better suit the Aussie.

He claimed his first F1 win at the circuit in the Sprint race in 2023 and has beaten his teammate in both races since joining the sport. Piastri finished second in 2023, ahead of Norris in third, and in 2024, he was third while Norris finished 10th thanks to a 10-second time penalty.

Furthermore, the gap in the championship is down from 30 points to 24, which takes a bit of pressure off the Australian. Of course, he still needs to beat Norris to keep himself in contention until the final race, but history in Qatar would suggest that Piastri’s Las Vegas DSQ has worked in his favour.

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James Hinchcliffe thinks Oscar Piastri has a Qatar advantage that will take the 2025 title fight to Abu Dhabi

F1 pundit James Hinchcliffe holds the same opinion, as he believes that Norris will not win the title in Qatar. Speaking on F1 TV’s post-race show after Las Vegas, the Canadian thinks that the ‘old Oscar’ will return this weekend.

“Alright, I’m going to say no, he’s not, because if in this stretch of races since the summer break, there’s one track that you would circle as an Oscar Piastri advantage, it would be Qatar for me,” he said.

“And we’ve seen him improve in some of these low grip tracks, but we’ve had a lot of low grip tracks in a row. That’s kind of highlighting his struggles.

“We’re going back to fast corners, high grip, mandated two stops now, so it’s not going to be about saving tyres. It’s going to be about pushing the whole day.

“I think we can see old Oscar creep back in. That guy can fight for a win against Lando, he keeps it alive enough to go to Abu Dhabi.”