Lando Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for technical infringements.
The skid blocks on both cars were found after the race to be less than the minimum depth allowed in the rules.
Norris, who finished second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, is now 24 points ahead of both the Dutchman and Piastri going into the penultimate race of the season in Qatar next weekend.
The Briton, 26, will still win the drivers’ title in Qatar with a round to spare if he earns two more points than both Verstappen and Piastri over the course of the weekend.
There are a maximum of 58 points available in the final two grands prix with Qatar being a sprint event. After Qatar, the final race follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December.
Verstappen has won the past four drivers’ championships, while Norris and Piastri are both seeking their first.
Norris’ disqualification lifts Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli into second and third respectively in Vegas. Australian Piastri had finished fourth.
Had the result stood as the cars finished the race, Norris would have had a 30-point lead over Piastri and 42 over Verstappen.
Leclerc moves up to fourth, not close enough to benefit from Antonelli’s penalty, with Carlos Sainz fifth, his Williams lacking the pace to compete with the top teams in the dry, after his heroic performance to qualify third in the wet.
Hadjar took sixth ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Hamilton.
The seven-time champion made a flying start, up to 13th on the first lap, and continued to move forwards.
He got stuck in a DRS train with a bunch of other cars but was able to use his electric start to score points after the worst qualifying session of his career.
The Haas drivers of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman move up to the final points-scoring positions, in ninth and 10th.
