Red Bull driver Max Verstappen said he welcomes McLaren’s decision to let their drivers race as the title fight heats up ahead of the penultimate round of the season at the F1 Qatar GP.
After both McLaren drivers were disqualified from the previous race in Las Vegas for excessive plank wear, Verstappen slashed his deficit to championship leader Lando Norris from 42 to just 24 and drew level on points with Oscar Piastri, reigniting the possibility of a three‑way title battle going down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.
On McLaren’s side, Piastri revealed that the team had a “brief discussion” regarding their game plan heading into the weekend, with the consensus being that the Australian driver will not be boxed into a support role as long as he is mathematically in contention himself.
McLaren’s stance “perfect” for Verstappen
Asked for his opinion on McLaren’s approach during a media session on Thursday, Verstappen made it clear he respects the decision, and strongly implied he’d never accept being told to play second fiddle while in contention for the title.
“No, it’s perfect, I think,” he said.
“You can’t do a better job than allowing them to race. Because why would you suddenly now say that Oscar wouldn’t be allowed anymore to… I mean, if that was said to me, I would have not rocked up. I would have told them to f*** off.”
Verstappen continued: “If you’re a real winner and a racer as a driver, then you go for it, even if you’re behind. I mean, what’s the point otherwise to turning up? Otherwise, you can easily just label yourself as a number two driver, which I think [Piastri] doesn’t want to be.
“I know that I’m equal on points with Oscar. A lot still needs to go right. But I think it should be like that, that they are free to race and hopefully we can make it a great battle till the end.”
Red Bull revival gave Verstappen a late-season lifeline
Reflecting on this turnaround, Verstappen admitted the first half of the season wasn’t up to standard, but highlighted the collective push to find performance and eliminate weaknesses, which allowed the Dutch driver to overturn a 104-point deficit since the summer break.
“Honestly, if you look back at the season, there are always points where you think, ‘ah, we could have done a better job,’” he admitted.
“For sure, our first half has not been what we wanted. If we knew, of course, what we know now, it’s very easy to engineer like that… We were just in a difficult spot at the time.
“I have to say that lately, everyone is working really well together. We have a positive atmosphere in the team. And yeah, the car for sure is handling better, at times good enough, at times still not good enough. But yeah, overall, I’m fairly happy with that second half.”
Lessons from the season will shape Red Bull’s 2026 campaign
Verstappen pointed out that the lessons learned this season will be relevant for 2026, even if the first year under new regulations is a step into the unknown.
“For sure, lessons learned also for next year, even though, of course, the rules are changing,” Verstappen said.
“But in general, I think the way of working is positive. Then again, I mean, you don’t know next year how competitive you’re going to be. But for sure, it’s still very important what we learned this year for also the future of the team.”
