Steiner tells McLaren: It’s time to throw everything behind Norris

Guenther Steiner has never been one to hold back – and with two races left in a knife-edge title battle, the former Haas chief has delivered his bluntest message yet: McLaren must now fully back Lando Norris or risk losing the championship.

Norris heads into the Qatar weekend with a 24-point advantage, but the margin is far from comfortable.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are tied right behind him, and with McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas already narrowing the gap, Steiner believes the team can no longer afford to play fair.

A Now Obvious Choice

Throughout 2025 McLaren has prided itself on letting its drivers race freely, refusing to impose team orders even as the title fight tightened. But Steiner says the era of “let the boys race” is over.

"They must support him," Steiner insisted on The Red Flags Podcast. "Otherwise, I mean, he hasn't got a chance. If Oscar steals the point from Lando, that would be... Wow.

“If Oscar is leading the race, Lando is second, and they don't let Lando pass, I would be shocked."

The Italian didn’t stop there, comparing Verstappen to a predator circling its prey – and questioning McLaren’s resolve in the face of that threat.

"How fair do you want to be? Knowing that Lando now has a lead, but it's not a comfortable lead for the animal coming, it's like, 'Wow, do we want to be eaten up by the animal, or do we try to help one guy?'"

McLaren’s stubborn insistence on equal treatment, he said, may cost them the biggest prize of all.

"How stubborn can you be?" Steiner added pointedly.

Steiner: Max ‘tricked’ Norris in Vegas showdown

Steiner also weighed in on Norris’s dramatic Turn 1 mistake in Las Vegas, calling it a masterclass in psychological warfare from Verstappen.

From pole, Norris aggressively covered the inside line, determined to hold off the Red Bull. Instead, he locked himself into a late-braking lunge that sent him wide and handed Verstappen the lead.

• Read also: Piastri reveals 'brief' McLaren chat on favouring Norris

According to Steiner, that was no accident – it was bait.

"Max. He qualified second, but he tricked Lando into making a mistake on the start," Steiner said. "He couldn't win the start, so he basically tricked him into making a mistake and Lando went for it."

With just two rounds remaining and a voracious Verstappen looming, Steiner believes that McLaren stands at a crossroads: stay loyal to its egalitarian philosophy, or put its weight behind Norris to clinch the team’s first drivers’ crown since 2008.

Fair racing is noble – but championships are ruthless, and right now, so is the opponent chasing Norris down. If McLaren wants this title, Steiner says, it’s time to choose a side.

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