Lando Norris reveals 'expectation' of shock McLaren disqualification

Lando Norris has explained how his disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix was "expected" and not a "complete shock."

After finishing second on the road, Norris, along with team-mate Oscar Piastri was expunged from the results after both MCL39s failed post-race scrutineering, with both machines carrying too much plank wear, both exceeding the 1mm tolerance and dipping below the 9mm allowance.

McLaren has since identified greater-than-expected porpoising as the reason behind the skid blocks wearing out too much, but the double DSQ has blown the drivers' title race wide open heading to the penultimate race of the season in Qatar.

Instead of being 30 points clear of Piastri and 42 points clear of Max Verstappen, Norris finds himself 24 points ahead of both rivals, knowing if he out-scores the duo by two points across the Sprint weekend, he will be crowned 2025 champion.

Reflecting on his first F1 DSQ, Norris explained that the decision was not a total surprise, as he firmly rejected the idea he could have saved his plank by lifting and coasting earlier in the race.

"There was some small expectation of it already, so it wasn't a complete shock or out of nowhere," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. 

"We were quite prepared for what the result could be, but I was quite fine. I left the track, we did our debrief, and we talked about what was good, what was not good and things we could improve on and be better for here, of course, one main thing. 

"But otherwise, we treated everything very normally, and of course, it hurts as a lot of effort goes into every weekend from everyone, including myself, and it certainly made all that effort feel like it disappeared very quickly, but it is the same feeling for all of us.

"The mechanics, the engineers, myself, everyone in McLaren feels let down by what we had as a result, and we're all disappointed, but actually, I found it quite easy to move on, have a few days off and come to this weekend, so I'm disappointed, of course, but it was fine."

When asked if he could have implemented lift and coast procedures earlier in the race to save his plank, Norris indicated that "it was not that simple."

"No, it is certainly not that simple. As Andrea mentioned in the Q&A, there's a lot more detail in these things; it is not as simple as lifting more and it being better, especially because the issue was porpoising. 

"It wasn't because we were running low; sometimes it can be the opposite, but that wasn't the issue, like sometimes if you lift more, you get more porpoising, and it is a worse effect.

"There was a big gap behind, and I tried a bit more, but we're talking small things, small things, which, at times, can add up to a larger amount. 

"It is the rules, it is the way it is, so no, I don't think starting any earlier with the lifting would have made any difference."