Norris, Piastri and McLaren team representatives have been summoned to the stewards investigating the issue, with a verdict expected later this morning.
The outcome would add an explosive twist to the final two races of the season, bringing Max Verstappen to within 24 points of championship leader Norris, and level on points with Piastri.
Norris would still carry a significant advantage in the title race, but Verstappen would move from being 42 points behind to being within a race victory of the championship leader.
Current championship standings |
If McLarens are disqualified |
|||||
| Position | Driver | Points | Position | Driver | Points | |
| 1 | Norris | 408 | 1 | Norris | 390 | |
| 2 | Piastri | 378 | 2 | Piastri | 366 | |
| 3 | Verstappen | 366 | 2 | Verstappen | 366 | |
What are skid blocks?
Titanium skid blocks are added to the plank underneath each F1 car, which prevents cars from running too low to the ground.
Low ride-heights improve performance but increase the risk of drivers losing control if the floor of the car runs along the track surface, causing it to bottom out and lose grip.
The skids are attached within the front and rear of planks at the point where the thickness is measured by race officials.
Their job is to protect the 10mm plank in this area, on sections of the track where the plank does graze the asphalt, and prevent it from wearing by more than 1mm during the race — the margin allowed in F1’s technical regulations.
The holes within the skids, pictured above, allow the thickness of the plank to be measured.
The wear allowance is a strict threshold: any wear over 1mm can result in disqualification, as Lewis Hamilton found at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix where his plank was found to measure between 8.5mm and 8.6mm at the rear skid.
In this case, the “standard penalty of a disqualification” was applied.