Hamilton warns McLaren duo: ‘Be cutthroat – or Max will take it'

Lewis Hamilton has urged Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to show a ruthless edge in their title fight – warning that Max Verstappen won’t hesitate to snatch the 2025 Formula 1 crown from their grasp if they don’t toughen up against the Dutchman.

Verstappen has muscled his way back into title contention after three wins in the past four races — plus victory in the Austin sprint — closing the gap to Piastri to just 40 points, with Norris 14 behind his teammate and five rounds left to run.

But Hamilton, who knows better than most what it’s like to go wheel-to-wheel with Verstappen for a world title, says the McLaren pair must match the Red Bull driver’s ferocity if they want to keep him at bay.

A Masterclass in Ruthlessness

“You really have to be cutthroat,” Hamilton told F1 TV ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix. “That’s what Max is. He’s going to take this from them if they don’t do the same.

“They’ve got to be pushing and they’ve got to dig deep to be able to, firstly, hold off someone like Max and the car that he’s in at the moment.

“But also, for either of them to come out ahead, consistency is key and you’ve seen that from Max in the last few races.”

McLaren’s even-handed approach between its drivers has so far kept both Piastri and Norris in the mix – but has also meant they’ve occasionally taken points off each other, leaving Verstappen to close in as Red Bull’s undisputed number one.

Blocking Out the Noise

Hamilton added that the McLaren pair must tune out the critics and external pressure if they’re to hold their nerve in the final stretch.

“It’s challenging when you’re in the team, the pressure is high,” said the Ferrari driver.

“It’s definitely a time where you have to put your blinkers up, you have to block absolutely everything from the outside because there’s so much coming in, positive and negative.”

The Briton knows the weight of title pressure well, having lost in Abu Dhabi a nail-biting 2021 fight with Verstappen – and though his first Ferrari season has been tough, Hamilton is still hungry for strong results in red.

He sits sixth in the championship, 50 points behind Charles Leclerc, but his fourth-place finish in Austin matched his best Sunday result of 2025.

Hamilton’s Own Battle in Mexico

Looking ahead to this weekend’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – where Ferrari won last year with Carlos Sainz – Hamilton is hoping to build on that momentum.

“We're still trying to extract more from this car,” he said. “Last race, we got a lot out of the car, but I still think there's a little bit more performance.

“From track to track it's a little bit different. This weekend, you don't know how strong everyone's going to be, but I think Ferrari were very strong here last year.

"So I'm hoping that we can take a look at what they had last year and apply this weekend. I anticipate the car is going to feel quite a lot different to what I experienced last year here and the previous years that I've been here. And I'm missing P1.

“This weekend I need to learn to run straight away pretty much. It's obviously building up to speed. I'm really hoping that we can be strong again this weekend and really try to take the fight to the guys up ahead.”

With Verstappen closing in fast and McLaren under pressure, Hamilton’s message is clear – this title fight won’t be won by playing nice.

Read also: Leclerc offers surprising verdict on Verstappen’s title push

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