Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren say the problem that caused the disqualification of both their cars from the Las Vegas Grand Prix was a concern from the beginning of the race.

Team principal Andrea Stella said McLaren did "not believe we took excessive risk with the ride-height" and that the team had "added a safety margin" intended to limit skid wear in qualifying and race.

He said the team noticed an aerodynamic phenomenon known as "porpoising", where a car bounces up and down into the ground, "from the early laps of the race".

"It was clear from the data that the level of unexpected porpoising would be a concern," Stella said.

"We realised relatively soon that this level of porpoising was causing a high level of skid-wear energy and this is the reason why both drivers started to take remedial actions in various parts of the circuit."

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Yes he can. What he can't do, however, is win it during Saturday's sprint race.

There are a maximum of 58 points available in the final two grands prix, 33 of them in Qatar.

Even if Lando Norris won the sprint (eight points) and Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen failed to score, his title lead would be 32 points with 50 points left to play for.

To seal his maiden crown during Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix, he would need to score two more points than both drivers over the course of the weekend.

A double podium for second-placed Mercedes in Vegas following McLaren's disqualification moves them 40 points clear of Red Bull in third in the constructors' championship, while Ferrari are now 13 points adrift of Red Bull after Max Verstappen's sixth win of the season.

In the midfield fight, Racing Bulls and Haas were both in the points last weekend and have added to their championship tally, with Haas jumping above Aston Martin to take seventh place.

Image source, BBC Sport

The disqualification in Sin City has probably jangled the nerves of Lando Norris slightly but he still occupies the best seat in the house in the drivers' championship.

With McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri now level on points with four-time title winner Max Verstappen, Norris is 24 points clear of the pair heading into this weekend's sprint and main race.

The 26-year-old took maximum points at the fifth sprint in Sao Paulo earlier this month, so a repeat of that performance would crown him champion on Sunday.

Image source, BBC Sport

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. Is this the weekend a new world champion is crowned? Or will the fight go down to the wire next week in Abu Dhabi? There are a maximum of 33 points available at the penultimate race - and final sprint event - at this weekend's Qatar Grand Prix and Lando Norris is in the best spot to secure his maiden F1 title on Sunday.

First (and only) practice gets under way at 13:30 GMT.

After that, it's straight into sprint qualifying at 17:30 GMT.

We left off in Las Vegas with both Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri disqualified from second and fourth place respectively after the grand prix for excessive skid-block wear. Winner Max Verstappen is firmly in the fight for his fifth consecutive championship but it's Briton Norris who holds a 24-point advatnage in the standings with two race weekends to go.