Could McLaren’s Las Vegas DSQ seal Oscar Piastri’s role as No.2?

Oscar Piastri’s championship quest has been flagging for several weeks already, but could McLaren’s skid plank blunder in Las Vegas be what seals his role as number two to Lando Norris?

And through no fault of his own.

Has Las Vegas sealed Oscar Piastri’s No.2 fate?

McLaren has been resolute through the opening 22 races of this year’s 24-grand prix season that neither Norris or Piastri will be given number one status, not while there’s still a chance that the other could win the title.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown told PlanetF1.com editor Mat Coch that he was “comfortable with that.”

He added: “When you’ve got two drivers first and second in the championship and are separated by less than one second place finish, how do you possibly even consider standing one down into a supporting role?

“There’s just no way we will.”

He said that back in May when Piastri was 13 points clear of Norris, with the teammates having won five of seven grands prix.

Today, the numbers aren’t a whole lot different. Norris leads Piastri by 24 points, but the momentum in the last run of seven races has swung hugely – and towards Max Verstappen.

The Red Bull driver has won four of the last seven grands prix, while McLaren has just two on the board. They now also have a first non-score for the season on the list after Norris and Piastri were both disqualified in Las Vegas for excessive skid plank wear.

What had initially been a 42-point lead for Norris over Verstappen, with Piastri between them and 12 points to the good ahead of Verstappen, was drastically reduced to 24 and zero.

Shockingly, what once looked to be an almost certain 1-2 for McLaren when Piastri was 104 points ahead of the reigning World Champion after the Dutch Grand Prix and Norris 70 points clear, now looks anything but a sure bet.

Even the championship title is on the line.

McLaren’s fairytale success story of how it overthrew Red Bull in the final year of the ground-effect dynamic era has the potential to transform into a nightmare.

McLaren do still have an advantage, two in fact: Norris is almost a race win clear in the standings, and he has a teammate who could support him.

In a season in which momentum began with Norris before swinging to Piastri and now back to Norris, it’s the Briton who has hit a rich vein of form when it matters most. Outscoring Piastri by 115 points to 57 in the last seven races, Norris has stamped his authority over his teammate.

Lando Norris v Oscar Piastri: McLaren 2025 head-to-head scores

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Now it’s time for McLaren to ensure it’s not wasted.

It is a decision that, based on everything Brown and team principal Andrea Stella have said, would upset them as much as it would Piastri.

Stella stressed after Brazil when Norris surged to a 24-point lead over his teammate that McLaren was not ready or willing to make that call.

“From a driver’s point of view, team point of view, we just have to make sure that we stay focused on ourselves and focus on executing weekends,” he said.

“Honestly, when it comes to the points, we will take a look at the end of Vegas and we will see where we are. And likewise, after Qatar and Abu Dhabi.”

Well, Vegas has now come and gone, and it’s fair to say the situation is looking trickier, although definitely not dire, as one crack under pressure in qualifying, one crash in a grand prix, or – dare I say – one DSQ, could put the title within Verstappen’s reach.

Instead of two drivers fighting for the ultimate prize in Formula 1, they could both lose it.

McLaren needs to know heading into the final two race weekends that Piastri will take points off Verstappen, and Verstappen only. Not Norris. And the one way to know that for sure, is to issue the order.

Without a doubt it will hurt, but it would hurt a little less than throwing away a first championship double in almost three decades.

Who would want to be a Formula 1 team boss, eh?

Source: PlanetF1 · Published on 25 Nov 2025, 05:00