MAX VERSTAPPEN ADDRESSES MCLAREN CONTROVERSY, SLAMS PERCEIVED BIAS CLAIM
Max Verstappen responds to claims McLaren is favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri in the F1 title fight. The Red Bull driver also assesses his own "50-50" championship chances with six races left.
Claims that McLaren is favouring Lando Norris over colleague Oscar Piastri in the race for the F1 championship have been addressed by Max Verstappen.
The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas will kick off the final quarter of the 2025 Formula One season on Friday night.
There is drama on the grid with just six race weekends remaining, but nowhere more so than at the top, where Piastri and Norris, partners at McLaren, are vying for the Drivers' Championship.
With only 22 points separating them on the table, emotions between the two seem to be stronger than ever after their dramatic collision during the previous race at Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Following the incident in Singapore, many fans accused McLaren of favouring Norris in the fight for the championship. Current champion Max Verstappen responded to this accusation before the US Grand Prix.
McLaren's well-known "papaya regulations", which allowed both drivers to compete on the track as long as they kept the fight fair, had been the subject of much discussion during the season.
However, the Woking-based team came under fire for favouring the British player in the title chase after they chose not to discipline Norris for momentarily hitting a teammate in Singapore after he launched an aggressive attack from fifth place.
In response to a question about whether he believes that to be the case and whether it would improve his chances of catching the two in the title race, Verstappen joked, "Yes."
Does it assist me? I am not sure. To be honest, I have no idea. Additionally, I do not care because I have no say in what the team decides or how they function as a unit.
"They do what they believe to be right and do it very well, which is evident from their speed and actions during the past few years.
"What matters to me is that we just maximise our potential when we get to the racecourse. We have control over it as long as we can accomplish that.
Verstappen identifies his prospects of taking home the 2025 championship.
With 273 points thus far this season, Verstappen sits 41 points behind Norris and 63 points ahead of championship leader Piastri.
Therefore, many would argue that Verstappen's prospects of keeping his title are at best modest, even with Red Bull's recent upgrades.
The Dutchman, however, expressed his belief that he has a good chance of winning the title before the US Grand Prix.
"I have a 50-50 chance of winning or losing," Verstappen said.
"Being realistic is more important than whether or not you believe in it. We were undoubtedly not vying for the championship throughout the majority of the season.
We have had some positive results lately, and I know that I can be there in those races where the car can move quickly. I would think it is as easy as that.
MAX VERSTAPPEN CLAIMS POLE IN MERCEDES-AMG GT3 AMID F1 RULE CONTROVERSY
Max Verstappen lands pole in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Nurburgring while slamming F1’s "Mario Kart" battery regulations.
Max Verstappen just landed pole position in a Mercedes – and he didn’t miss the chance to take another shot at Formula 1's new rules. He’s using the gap between the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix to race in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, getting ready for the 24-hour event in May.
He’s in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Winward, running under the Verstappen Racing banner, teaming up with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon for this four-hour race. Their qualifying run? Verstappen's squad nailed the fastest lap: 7:51.751 around the legendary circuit.
Honestly, this weekend at the Nurburgring is a breath of fresh air for Verstappen. He’s been vocal about his dislike for F1's latest regulations, which split the power pretty much evenly between traditional engines and electric systems.
These rules are some of the biggest changes F1 has ever had, forcing drivers to constantly watch their battery levels and use a boost button for overtakes. Verstappen didn’t hide his feelings, saying about the NLS race: “At least you can drive flat out without looking after the battery.” He’s been slamming F1’s direction for months, and after retiring late in China, he was running sixth; he doubled down, calling the system “Mario Kart". It’s not racing, he said. “We’re boosting past. Then you run out of battery, and they boost back past you again. For me, it’s just a joke.”
Verstappen made it clear: it’s not about sour grapes or losing. “I’d say the same if I were winning because I care about the racing product. It’s fundamentally flawed. It’s painful. It’ll ruin the sport eventually, and it’ll come back to bite them.”
An old press conference of Verstappen warning about the 2026 regulations popped up again online. He kept going: “You could have seen this coming ages ago. They should have listened in 2023. Maybe it’s a lesson, so this doesn’t happen again. You’ve got to be careful with how you say things, but we’re talking. They know where we stand as drivers. Some love it because they’re winning, and sure, if you have an advantage, why give it up?
“But talk to most drivers; this isn’t what we want, and I don’t think real fans want it either. It’s political. Some have the edge and want to keep it. I get that; I’m not stupid. But it’s just not good for the sport. Hopefully, we'll get rid of it soon.”
DISCOVER WHY JONATHAN WHEATLEY BELIEVES RED BULL’S STRUGGLES FUEL MAX VERSTAPPEN’S OUTRAGE
Jonathan Wheatley claims Max Verstappen's criticism of the "anti-racing" 2026 regulations reflects Red Bull's early struggles.
Jonathan Wheatley thinks Max Verstappen’s harsh words about Formula 1’s 2026 rules say as much about Red Bull’s current struggles as they do about the new regulations.
Verstappen hasn’t held back at all; he’s been one of the loudest voices against F1’s new energy-harvesting era, calling the rules “anti-racing” during pre-season testing.
Just two races in, Verstappen’s only got eight points. After Shanghai, he walked away without scoring anything. He finished the sprint race in ninth just outside the points, mostly because he lost ground when his car bogged down from a lack of battery power right off the line.
Things didn’t get better in the main race. Verstappen tried to claw his way back, but he had to park his RB22 because of an ERS cooling problem.
He didn’t sugarcoat his feelings. Verstappen slammed the new energy management rules, energy harvesting, and super clipping, all of it, as “fundamentally flawed". He called the racing itself a "joke". For him, the whole thing’s starting to feel more like Mario Kart than real racing.
“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and have been practising Mario Kart, actually!” Verstappen joked when someone asked if sim time gives drivers an advantage now. “Honestly, I’m getting good at finding the mushrooms. The blue shell’s a bit tougher, but I’m working on it. No rockets yet, but they’re coming.”
He also warned F1’s leaders that these new rules could “eventually ruin the sport; it’ll come back to bite them.”
Not everyone’s moved by Verstappen’s complaints. Juan Pablo Montoya went as far as telling him, "There's the door.” Guenther Steiner, the former Haas boss, said it came off as nothing more than “toys out of the pram when it doesn’t go his way.”
Meanwhile, things look very different for Charles Leclerc. He’s been fighting for podiums in Australia and China and is loving the new era.
“I really enjoyed it,” Leclerc said. “Yeah, sometimes the overtakes feel a little fake if someone messes up their battery management; you get this huge speed difference. But we’re all learning when to push and when to risk it, and that’s creating some great overtaking spots. Today was a perfect example.”
Wheatley, watching all this, figures opinions on the new rules depend on how well one's doing. If you ask the guys up front, Ferrari and Mercedes, they love the new racing. The teams chasing them? Not so much.
He told reporters after the Chinese Grand Prix, “Talk to the Ferrari drivers; they’ll say it was a brilliant day. If you’re not winning, you just want to be able to race cleanly. Honestly, I didn’t see anything fake; every driver was fighting hard and fair. The midfield battles are fantastic; there’s a lot to like.”
And as for Verstappen’s comments? Wheatley gets it. When you’re struggling, it’s easy to point fingers.
