Jos Verstappen has weighed in on the growing intrigue surrounding Formula 1's 2025 title fight, insisting the time has come for Oscar Piastri to “stand up for himself” amid what he calls a “strange” situation at McLaren.
The Aussie is just one point behind Lando Norris in the standings, with four races to go and ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, the father of reigning world champion Max Verstappen questioned the sudden dip in Piastri’s form and suggested the 21-year-old needs to assert himself more forcefully inside the team.
“I find it quite strange what's happening at McLaren,” Verstappen said. “Piastri can't have suddenly forgotten how to drive, right? If I were him, or his manager [Mark Webber], I'd bang my fist on the table internally at least once.
“Because right now everyone is wondering whether he can handle the pressure – and that's not good for your reputation. Piastri's reputation in this case.”
It’s the latest talking point in a championship that has taken several unexpected turns. Piastri, who led the standings for six months after his victory in Saudi Arabia, has endured a difficult run of results that has allowed teammate Lando Norris to seize the championship lead — with Max Verstappen now just 36 points behind.
Favoritism or Fair Play?
Verstappen’s comments echo growing scrutiny over McLaren’s internal balance, though he stopped short of backing conspiracy theories that suggest the team might be favouring Norris.
“That may automatically seem that way but I have no insight into it,” he said.
“If I were Piastri, though, I'd be standing up for myself now. Everyone assumed he was going to be champion, and that perception has changed very quickly.”
The message is classic Verstappen Sr – direct, unapologetic, and rooted in his belief that Formula 1’s fiercest battles are often fought as much in the mind as on the racetrack.
McLaren Holds Its Line
Inside McLaren, team leaders have dismissed any claims of bias and pointed instead to subtle driving-style differences between their two drivers.
Team boss Andrea Stella explained that Norris’s pace advantage on low-grip circuits is the result of how he manages the car’s sliding behaviour.
“In this regime, you have to drive the car in a way that adapts to the fact that the car slides a lot and can slide and produce lap time,” Stella said. “And this is not necessarily the way in which Oscar feels naturally that he is producing lap time.”
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Meanwhile, McLaren CEO Zak Brown reiterated the team’s commitment to fair racing.
“While we have a million different suggestions on how we should run our racing team, we're sticking to our values,” Brown told Motorsport.com.
“We're going to stay true to our racing principles, which is we're racers and we're going to race each other hard, and we're going to make it to the end.
“And our two drivers are going to shake hands and hopefully, we finish first and second. That's what we're pushing for and get in a situation where we let them decide who's first and who's second.”
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