Jos Verstappen has referred to the double disqualification of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri following the Las Vegas Grand Prix as ‘a huge stroke of luck’. “The title race is not completely open yet, but it is a bit more open. This is certainly a huge stroke of luck for Max, that’s clear,” says Jos Verstappen.
With two more races and one sprint race to go, Max Verstappen‘s deficit to World Championship leader Lando Norris has suddenly shrunk to 24 points. “This only generates more positive energy for Max. If you hear and read what the comment during the race from McLaren over the radio – ‘Go and get Max’ – does to Max, you can imagine that this motivates him even more. And McLaren will only become more nervous. They can’t afford any more mistakes now.”
‘Norris is only focused on Max, Max, Max’
According to Jos Verstappen, McLaren is far too preoccupied with Max Verstappen, and this was evident at the start of the race. Norris aggressively steered his car from pole position to block Verstappen. “That was too aggressive. It was a close call, both cars could have hit each other and then they would both have been out of the race. The problem is that Lando is only focused on Max, Max, Max, but in the meantime, he just forgets to brake for the first corner. Max braked at least five meters earlier. So you can also call this a mistake. And Zak Brown (the CEO of McLaren) has often talked about Max’s driving style, saying he finds him too aggressive at the start, but he will surely now also have a word with his own driver.”
The reason for the disqualification was that the wooden plank under the chassis, the so-called skid block, of both McLarens was thinner than the minimum 9 millimeters. Jos Verstappen commented on this: “This is a big mistake by McLaren, a huge blunder indeed. Why would you really push the limit like this? Maybe it was a genuine mistake, but perhaps the car just doesn’t perform as well otherwise and they have to do this.”
After the São Paulo GP two weeks ago, there were already rumors that the FIA had discovered that certain teams were using skid blocks that expand when heated, allowing the respective cars to maintain a lower ride height. The FIA may have been particularly vigilant about this in Las Vegas.
Max Verstappen Already on the Plane
Max Verstappen was already on a plane to Monaco when McLaren’s disqualification was officially confirmed. Jos Verstappen: “I spoke to Max briefly before he left. He already knew they would be disqualified.”
The Qatar GP is scheduled for the coming weekend. Jos Verstappen: “The pressure is now fully on McLaren and they will feel it. It’s still the case that if Max wins the remaining races and Norris comes in second each time, Norris will be the world champion. But Oscar Piastri is also still in the running and he won’t be very happy at the moment either. You can see a clear difference between the two McLarens on the track, how they take the corners. One slides, the other doesn’t, and that raises questions. In any case, it’s going to be an incredibly exciting conclusion to the season and for Max, everything has to fall into place. But he still has nothing to lose and can go on the attack. And that’s exactly what he’ll do.”
