Four-time reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen produced a masterful effort to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, with his hopes for a fifth straight title further boosted by the disqualifications of both McLaren drivers, championship leader Lando Norris and closest chaser Oscar Piastri.

Norris initially finished second and Piastri fourth, but the skid blocks on both cars were found during post-race inspections to be less than the minimum depth.

The disqualifications mean that, with just two race weekends remaining in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, four-time defending champion Verstappen is now level on points with Piastri and just 24 points behind Norris in the title race.

His chances of a fifth successive title, however, will depend on another spectacular slip-up from Norris or the McLaren team.

"It's frustrating to lose so many points," Norris said in a McLaren statement. "As a team, we're always pushing to find as much performance as we can, and we clearly didn't get that balance right today. Nothing I can do will change that now, instead full focus switches to Qatar."

McLaren's team principal Andrea Stella explained that the problem was caused by "unexpected, high levels of porpoising" which led to "excessive contact" with the ground.

"We apologize 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 lamented.

With a maximum of 58 points available in the final two Grands Prix, Norris just needs to score two more points than each of his rivals next weekend in Qatar, which includes a sprint, to clinch a first world title.