Jos Verstappen fires 'huge blunder' McLaren criticism after double disqualification

Jos Verstappen has fired criticism at McLaren following its "huge blunder" in Las Vegas, which led to both of its drivers being disqualified.

After initially finishing in second and fourth, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were disqualified after failing post-race FIA checks. 

Both of McLaren's cars suffered excessive levels of plank wear below the legal minimum thickness of 9 mm, resulting in an immediate slam-dunk disqualification. 

As Max Verstappen won in Sin City, he is now 24 points behind Norris with two rounds remaining, as is Piastri. 

In Jos' eyes, McLaren has put itself under immense pressure, especially as its drivers are also not performing at the same level.

"The pressure at McLaren is now full on and they will feel that," Jos told Formule1.nl. "It is still the case that if Max wins the remaining races and Norris comes second every time, then Norris will be world champion. 

"But Oscar Piastri is also still there and he won't be very happy at this point either. You can see a clear difference between both McLarens on the track, how they go through corners. One slides, the other doesn't and that raises questions as well."

During the race in Las Vegas, significant sparks were seen being produced by both McLaren cars, leaving Jos to question why the Woking-based outfit risked running so low on a street track.

"This is a big mistake by McLaren, a huge blunder yes," added the former F1 driver. "Because why would you really go to the limit like that? 

"Maybe it really was a mistake, but maybe otherwise the car just doesn't work as well and they have to do this."

When Max discovered McLaren DSQ

Verstappen is the big winner from McLaren's disqualification, with the four-time world champion having discovered what was happening before he left the circuit.

"I spoke to Max before leaving," revealed Jos. "He already knew then that they would be disqualified."

McLaren's huge mistake has set up a thriller this weekend in Qatar, where Norris can win the title if he scores two points more than Verstappen and Piastri.

Verstappen still needs two major results in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to have any chance of catching Norris in the standings, but his father is certain the 28-year-old will give it everything.

"In any case, it's going to be a hugely exciting end of the season and for Max, everything has to fall right. But he still has nothing to lose and can go full for the attack. And he will."