Post-race checks revealed excessive wear on the rearmost skid blocks, leaving both cars under the mandatory 9mm thickness.
The team was excluded after stewards confirmed measurements as low as 8.88mm and 8.93mm, despite acknowledging McLaren’s explanation of unexpected porpoising, limited practice running and accidental damage.
Team principal Andrea Stella called the outcome “extremely disappointing” but stressed the infringement was unintentional.
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“During the race, both cars experienced unexpected, high levels of porpoising not seen in the practice sessions, which led to excessive contact with the ground,” Stella said, noting that post-race checks revealed damage that “led to an increase of movement of the floor.”
He highlighted the FIA’s assessment that “there was no deliberate attempt to circumvent the regulations, and mitigating circumstances also existed,” but accepted that the standard penalty had to be applied.
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Stella apologised directly to his drivers, saying: “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.”
He also extended that apology to “our partners and fans, whose support means so much,” while reaffirming the team’s commitment to the final two rounds of the season.
Both drivers echoed the disappointment. Piastri, who had finished fourth before the exclusion, said: “Disappointing to come away from this weekend with no points after an unfortunate disqualification due to skid wear.
“With how close the grid is, we’re always looking at where we can gain performance, and we didn’t get it right this time.”
He said the team must now “reset, refocus and push to get the best points possible in the final two rounds.”
Norris, who had slowed dramatically in the final laps with what was initially thought to be fuel concerns, said the ruling explained the late-race issues that forced him to manage the car to the finish.
“A frustrating end to today,” he said.
“We had to do some managing towards the end of the race and now we know it was due to some issues on our car, which have unfortunately resulted in us being disqualified.”
“It’s frustrating to lose so many points,” he added, but said his attention is already on recovering in Qatar.
The stewards acknowledged McLaren’s arguments but ruled exclusion was still required, reshuffling the result and tightening the title fight, with Max Verstappen now level with Piastri and both 24 points behind Norris with 58 still available.
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