McLaren refuses to rule out favouring a driver in F1 title fight against Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has brought himself into F1 title contention by winning three of the last four grands prix, as well as this weekend's sprint race in Austin, heaping pressure on McLaren and its drivers

McLaren boss Andrea Stella refused to rule out the prospect of favouring either Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris in the 2025 Formula 1 title fight amid the threat of Max Verstappen – but only when one is mathematically out of contention.

The reigning, four-time world champion claimed his third win in four on Sunday by dominating the United States Grand Prix from pole, a day after winning the sprint contest from pole as well.

Verstappen is F1’s most in-form driver thanks to a series of upgrades Red Bull brought to Monza at the start of this run, allowing him to fight the previously dominant McLarens.

With five rounds remaining he is 40 points behind championship leader Piastri, who is just 14 ahead of team-mate Norris after the pair finished fifth and second respectively in Austin.

But Piastri’s gap stood at 34 and 104 to Norris and Verstappen respectively just five races ago, so the situation has drastically changed and the Dutchman has admitted that the title is possible.

The question has now therefore been put to McLaren if it will favour a driver to guard against the world champion, given until now it had tried to keep things fair between Piastri and Norris.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Stella referenced 2007 and 2010, titles respectively won by Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, who were both seen as outsiders given they sat third heading into the finale.

“The fact that there are five races and two sprints means that we can also increase the gap to Max - that's how I see things,” said Stella.

“We have good tracks coming for our car and I think we have more that we could have exploited out of our car and to some extent, the drivers, I think, they recognise themselves that they could have done a better job in some of the previous races.

“So I think we look at the next five races as opportunities to increase the gap on Max and, when it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics.

“We talked before about the experience and leaning on the experience, I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it's actually the third that wins the championship.

“So we are not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren

Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images

Stella is therefore not panicking about the recent slump, especially considering he foresaw it three races ago in Baku when he called Verstappen a title contender to the shock of many.

So he is still confident for the remaining races - Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi - despite McLaren not bringing any more upgrades for the rest of the season.

“The danger for me is the same as there was in Baku,” said Stella, whose team has already won the 2025 constructors’ title.

“Something we said yesterday, in which I said very clearly in capital letter that Max was in the contest for the drivers' championship.

“When I say something, I mean it. It's not like, if I say it, I think it's because of the experience, it's because of understanding the trend, understanding the circuits that we were going to face from Baku onwards.

“For me, there's no mystery. We know that when Max has the material to win, he becomes a very serious candidate to win. So it doesn't change what our understanding of the situation is. It doesn't change what we do. We just have to keep maximising the performance and keep executing good weekends.

“So definitely we have a large opportunity and the outcome of this season and the drivers' championship is in our hands. It's not in someone else's hands. That's the mindset that we want to have and that's the mindset that we will have.”