Max Verstappen believes McLaren is taking the right approach ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix by letting its drivers continue to fight for the title, even if it helps his own chances.
Lando Norris arrives at the penultimate round of the season with a 24-point lead over both Oscar Piastri and Verstappen, and will be crowned champion if he wins Sunday’s race with a two or one point lead over both. Piastri said McLaren had had a “brief discussion” about a team order, a call that Verstappen supported and was not prepared to help Norris, who is still in the title race, at this stage.
“I think it’s perfect,” Verstappen said. “There’s no better job than letting them race too. Why are you now suddenly saying you’re not going to let Oscar race anymore? Because if you’d told me that, I wouldn’t have been upset. I would have told them to fuck off!”
“If you’re a true winner and you’re a racer as a driver, you’re going to try even if you’re behind. I mean, what’s the point of moving up? Otherwise you could easily label yourself the number two driver, but I don’t think he wants that.”
“We know we’re tied with Oscar on points. A lot of things still have to go right. But they’re free to race and I think that’s the way they should be and I hope we can have a great fight to the end.”
Verstappen, speaking to the media in Qatar for the first time since learning that two McLarens were disqualified in the final race in Las Vegas, closing the gap on Norris from 42 points to 24 points, said Red Bull’s approach remained unchanged despite closing in on the championship lead with a race win.
“I was flying home. I knew there was some research being done about the board, and when the board is too low, it’s too low. There’s not much you can argue with.”
“Of course, every team always sets it as low as possible, and sometimes they get it right. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to measure, but there are no excuses. If it’s too low, it’s too low. It’s the same with other rules in this sport. Unfortunately, it is what it is.”
“Of course, now the gap has closed a little bit, but it’s still 24 points. A lot of things have to go right until the end to have a chance, but it’s definitely a better chance than before. So we’ll take it. But we also have to be aware that even if we win everything, we still need a little bit of luck, right?
“So, let’s see what happens. Nothing changes for us. We will do our best. We have nothing to lose.”
