The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix delivered drama on every level — from chaotic on-track moments to technical controversies that reshaped the championship. Yet one of the biggest talking points came from something fans never heard during the live broadcast: an untelevised team-radio exchange where Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “taking the p*ss” during the formation lap.
According to the uncovered radio messages, Norris was frustrated that Verstappen left an excessively large gap during the run to the grid. Drivers are expected to keep no more than ten car lengths between them during the formation lap, and Norris felt the Red Bull driver was ignoring that rule to gain a tactical advantage.
Norris radioed his team saying, “He’s taking the pss with how big of a gap he’s leaving. It’s way over the allowed allowance.” His tone made it clear he believed Verstappen was deliberately bending formation-lap etiquette. The McLaren pit wall acknowledged the issue, but Norris continued: “Come on! He’s just taking the pss here. You can’t do this. It’s 10 car lengths, no?”
To some, this may sound minor, but in Formula 1, psychological battles are just as fierce as physical ones. A formation lap sets the mental tone for the start, and anything that disrupts a driver’s focus — especially before a high-pressure Grand Prix — can have real consequences. Norris’s irritation hinted that Verstappen’s tactics, intentional or not, had already gotten under his skin.
From Lights Out to Turn 1: A Costly Miscalculation
Norris started the race from pole position with Verstappen right behind him. But the frustration from the formation lap seemed to carry into Turn 1. As the lights went out, Norris aggressively moved across the track to defend his position, squeezing Verstappen toward the pit wall. It was a bold defensive move — perhaps even a desperate one — but it ultimately backfired.
Norris misjudged his braking into the first corner, ran wide, and surrendered the lead immediately. Verstappen took full advantage, diving ahead and seizing control of the race. From that point forward, Red Bull managed the pace with precision while Norris found himself struggling to recover.
As the laps unfolded, Norris remained in the fight but lacked the early momentum he needed to challenge Verstappen. Worse still, late-race issues surfaced when his McLaren team instructed him to manage the car due to a suspected fuel concern. This forced him to reduce pace, losing any chance of mounting a comeback.
Norris crossed the finish line in second place on track, but the day’s drama was far from over.
The Disqualification Shockwave
While the top three teams prepared for the podium ceremony, post-race scrutineering revealed a far more devastating twist for McLaren. Both Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri were disqualified from the race after officials discovered excessive wear on the skid blocks under their cars — a clear violation of the technical regulations.
For Norris, it was a brutal blow. A strong second-place finish vanished, leaving him with zero points on a weekend where he had hoped to strengthen his championship lead. Piastri, who had finished fourth, also lost his points. Their disqualifications elevated George Russell to second place and Kimi Antonelli to third.
For McLaren, it was nothing short of a nightmare. The team issued statements explaining that unusually high “bottoming out” during the race had caused the excessive floor wear, but regulations allow no exceptions. Whether intentional or accidental, the rules are strict — and the penalty was unavoidable.
For the championship picture, however, the consequences were enormous. Verstappen, who looked like an outside contender before the weekend, suddenly had his hopes revived. With Norris losing all his points, Verstappen closed the gap dramatically, turning a fading title challenge into a real possibility with just two races remaining.
What the Radio Exchange Reveals About Driver Psychology
The newly uncovered radio messages provide a fascinating insight into the mental side of Formula 1. Norris’s comment — “He’s taking the p*ss” — wasn’t just out of annoyance; it reflected genuine concern that Verstappen had compromised the fairness of the start.
Drivers spend the formation lap warming tyres, calibrating systems, and mentally locking in. When one driver feels another is breaking the rhythm, tension spikes. Whether Verstappen truly intended to unsettle Norris or simply preferred a slower formation pace is almost irrelevant; in sport, perception often matters more than reality.
The psychological dimension may also help explain Norris’s overly aggressive Turn 1 defense. Feeling that Verstappen had gained an unfair advantage before the lights even went out, Norris might have overcompensated — leading to the move that ultimately cost him the lead.
It’s a reminder that championships aren’t just won with horsepower and downforce, but with composure. A distracted mindset at the start can snowball into critical mistakes.
A Title Battle Reignited
Before Las Vegas, Norris held a comfortable lead in the championship. After Las Vegas, that cushion shrank drastically. Verstappen’s victory, combined with Norris’s disqualification, transformed the standings.
With only Qatar and Abu Dhabi remaining — and 58 points still available — the title race was suddenly alive again. Verstappen now had realistic hopes of overturning the deficit, turning the final two rounds into a high-stakes psychological duel between him and Norris.
For McLaren, the challenge is now twofold: they must recover technically from the setback, while lifting the morale of a driver who watched his podium and points evaporate in minutes. For Red Bull, momentum has shifted their way — and Verstappen thrives when the pressure sharpens.
What We Learned from Las Vegas
The 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix was more than a race — it was a masterclass in how unseen elements shape a season. Technical regulations, mental battles, formation-lap interactions, and split-second decisions all stitched together to produce one of the most defining weekends of the year.
The key lessons?
Mind games matter. Verstappen may not have intended to provoke Norris, but the psychological effect was real. Small errors have huge consequences. Norris’s Turn 1 misjudgment reshaped his entire race. Technical compliance decides championships. McLaren’s floor-wear issue cost them everything. Momentum shifts quickly in F1. With two races left, the title fight is wide open again.
Las Vegas reminded us that Formula 1 is never just about who crosses the finish line first. It’s about strategy, engineering, pressure, psychology, and the invisible battles that unfold behind the radio static.
