F1 News Latest: Max Verstappen reacts to McLaren DSQ ahead of Qatar GP

Hamilton started P20 in Vegas after his final push lap was hampered by yellow flags, with the Briton thinking he had crossed the line at the start-finish too late to start the second lap, with red lights flashing overhead.

However, replays showed that Hamilton could actually have started another push lap, as he crossed the timing line with the light still green.

Asked if he could defend Hamilton for the mistake, fellow Sky F1 pundit and 2009 world champion Button replied: “No – that’s a difficult one. He’s probably not the first person to make that mistake, but the timing line is a different line from Gentry.

“You have to know that because the time comes up on your dash. We’re all told what our lap time is when you cross that line.”

Norris and Piastri were penalized for an illegal post-race car undercarriage, which was less than the 9 mm thickness required by FIA rules.

Skid wear is monitored so that teams do not run their cars too low to the ground for performance gains.

The stewards’ decision showed that plank-wear was 0.12 mm over the limit for Norris’ car and 0.26 mm for Piastri’s car. McLaren argued that unpredictable porpoising, when the car bounces violently up and down, limited testing opportunities due to rain on Thursday night and short practice sessions in Vegas gave them mitigating circumstances.

However, the FIA ​​acknowledged that there was no room in the rules or previous rulings for anything other than a disqualification decision.

By the end of the final sprint race of the year at the final round in Qatar, Piastri and Verstappen would have to stay within 50 points of Norris to have a mathematical chance of catching him. With a maximum of eight points in the sprint, Norris Now Qatar cannot win the title in sprint raceThe worst-case scenario for both chasing drivers is a deficit of 32 points,

Therefore, Norris can win the title as soon as possible Grand Prix in Qatar On Sunday 30th November.

An advantage of more than 25 points by the end of the Qatar Grand Prix would help them clinch the title with one race remaining. Simply put: if Norris overtakes Piastri and Verstappen by two or more points from both the sprint and grand prix in Qatar, he will become world champion.

“Lewis was there in practice and the pace was good, but starting on the 20th is not the best way to get good results,” he explained.

“For now, we’ll have to calm down. Getting out of the car and making the first comment is always a little much.”

4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 294 points

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 226 points

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 137 points

8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 73 points

9. Isak Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 51 points

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 49 points

11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 48 points

12. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 41 points

13. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 40 points

14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 36 points

15. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 32 points

16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 32 points

17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 28 points

18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 22 points

19. Gabriel Bortoletto (Sauber) – 19 points

20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points

21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points

Pressure has increased on current team principal and CEO Andy Cowell amid a disappointing season and reports of disagreements with technical partner Newey.

After adding speculation Former Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner With the Silverstone-based team re-emerging, Aston Martin announced on Wednesday evening that Newey, 66, will take over trackside operations from 2026.

German driver, seven year old son f1 world champion Michael SchumacherHe had two seasons at Haas in 2021–2022, before losing his seat after several costly accidents.

Schumacher, 26, has competed for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans race – but Have made no secret of your desire To find a way back into F1.

However, after being overlooked for a seat at new Team Cadillac for 2026, Schumacher has turned his attention stateside and will race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Team (RLL) in IndyCar next year, after impressing in testing last month.

“The specific cause responsible for this situation was the unexpected phenomenon of extensive porpoising, which induced large vertical oscillations of the car.

“The level of porpoising was increased due to the conditions in which the car operated during the race, and was not anticipated based on what we saw in practice and predictions of the car operating window in the race.

“Based on the data we acquired in practice, we do not believe we took excessive risks in terms of ride height and we have also added a safety margin for qualifying and the race in terms of ground clearance, compared to practice.

“However, the safety margin was reduced by the unexpected onset of large vertical oscillations, which caused the car to touch the ground.

“It was also difficult to reduce the porpoising condition the car developed in the race, as even a reduction in speed – an action which, in theory, should increase ground clearance – was only effective in some parts of the track but was actually counterproductive in others.”

championship leader lando norris They had one hand on the trophy after extending their lead to 30 points oscar piastri With a second-place finish in Vegas, race winner Verstappen finished 42 points behind the Briton.

still double disqualification blow of both mclaren The cars have pushed Verstappen back into the fight due to excessive skid plank wear. With two rounds left and 58 points in the standings, Verstappen is now level up on points with Piastri – a driver who trailed by 104 points at the start of September – and 24 points behind Norris.