McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has apologised to their Formula 1 drivers after the shocking disqualification from Las Vegas that provoked a huge shake-up in the season with two races remaining, that means that Max Verstappen now has a clear shot of fighting for the Formula 1 title until the final race.
Both drivers were disqualified, and lost all points won in Las Vegas (Norris was second and Piastri fourth) because their cars didn't have the minimum thickness required in the read skid block (less than the required 9 mm), therefore supposedly gaining an unfair advantage.
McLaren issued an statement signed by Stella, saying that "we apologise to Lando and Oscar for the loss of points today, at a critical time in their championship campaigns after two strong performances from them all weekend. As a team, we also apologise to our partners and fans, whose support means so much."
Due to the thickness of the skid block (the underside of the car) being slimmer, the cars suffered excessive bouncing during the race, excessive contact with the ground that damaged the cars. "As the FIA noted, the breach was unintentional, there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed", McLaren said, so the team probably was saved from a greater penalty.
Formula 1 season continues next week with the penultimate race in Qatar, also the last sprint race of the year.