McLaren does not want to apply team orders at the Formula 1 race in Qatar despite the danger posed by Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen likes that. The open battle between his teammates can only be good for him, and given the current status of the 2025 World Cup, it is a question of honor anyway. The world champion uses psychological warfare and incites Oscar Piastri to attack Lando Norris.
“As a racing driver, if you are a real winner and a real racer, you attack, even if you are behind. I mean, otherwise why should you even compete? You could just as easily call yourself ‘number two driver’, and I think he doesn’t want to be that,” said Max Verstappen before the 23rd and penultimate race in the 2025 Formula 1 calendar in Qatar.
Max Verstappen doesn’t play along with Formula 1 team orders: “F*** off!”
Table of Contents
Due to the double disqualification of the McLaren drivers at the race in Las Vegas last weekend, he is now only 24 behind championship leader Lando Norris, and is level on points with Oscar Piastri. Despite the danger posed by the Red Bull driver, McLaren does not want to use a stable regime between its two World Championship contenders. This approach is entirely to Verstappen’s taste.
“It’s perfect. You can’t do a better job than letting them both race against each other,” says the four-time world champion, who would rebel in Piastri’s situation anyway if things were different. “Why would they suddenly say that Oscar isn’t allowed anymore? I mean, if someone told me that, I wouldn’t play along. I would have told them ‘F*** off’.”
World Cup fight against Lewis Hamilton an advantage for Max Verstappen
Lando Norris was already an outsider in the world championship fight in 2024. This year is Oscar Piastri’s first time in the fight for the Formula 1 crown. The fact that the associated expectations and attention are taking a toll on the McLaren drivers became clear over the course of the season. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, relies on his routine in this pressure situation. Since he made his breakthrough against Lewis Hamilton in 2021, everything has been different for him.
“Of course it helps a little bit. When I look at myself in 2021 and now – having this experience helps with how you approach a race weekend. Even if you say it shouldn’t help – it helps,” said the 28-year-old. The fact that he is in a World Championship showdown against two drivers for the first time this year doesn’t change anything for him: “”It doesn’t matter, just like it doesn’t matter whether I’m behind or in front. The approach is always the same. I’m here to win and I know that I have to win or at least collect significantly more points by the end of the season.”
Max Verstappen finds out about McLaren disqualification on the plane
After the 15th race of the season in Zandvoort, he was 104 championship points behind the then championship leader Oscar Piastri. After his victory in Las Vegas last weekend it was actually 42 points, but everything changed a few hours after the finish when the McLaren drivers were disqualified. “I was on my flight home, but of course I knew that there was an investigation into the underbody,” said Verstappen.
His pity was of course limited: “There is nothing to discuss. Every team tries to go as deep as possible, and sometimes it works, sometimes it gets a little tighter. But there is no excuse. If you were too deep, then you were too deep. It’s the same with other rules in our sport.”
Max Verstappen could cope with World Cup defeat: No reason to cry
However, given the current form of McLaren and Lando Norris in particular, winning the title on their own may be close. A total of 58 points are still up for grabs, and if Norris has distanced himself from his two pursuers by 26 points on Sunday evening in Qatar, the World Cup will be decided.
“The chance is definitely greater now than before. We’re happy to take that with us, but we have to be aware that even if we win everything, we still need a bit of luck,” said Verstappen, who, with six wins this season, has one less than the two McLaren drivers with seven wins each. “In the end, it’s important to have a fast car. We have to make sure that we have a faster car or at least the same speed.”
If he fails to defend his title for the first time since 2022, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Red Bull driver. “Of course I would like to keep the starting number 1 on the car – it’s definitely the best number! But that doesn’t make me despair. If it doesn’t work, then it just doesn’t work. It’s not like I’m going to cry in Abu Dhabi. I’m relaxed.”
