Max Verstappen gives ‘not my problem’ verdict to McLaren team orders debate

Max Verstappen said he was relishing in the “positive pressure” of a title charge and said he does not care about McLaren’s team orders.

While having two drivers can be to your advantage, McLaren’s handling of their drivers has been put in the spotlight but Verstappen insisted it was not his problem.

Max Verstappen looks ahead to Mexico City Grand Prix

A few hours before Verstappen spoke in Mexico City, Oscar Piastri revealed the latest change to McLaren’s modus operandi with both drivers back to a “clean slate” following their clash during the United States Grand Prix Sprint.

But plenty, including other F1 drivers like Alex Albon, have suggested it would be far easier to pick a driver and give him preferential treatment now that the possibility of neither of them winning is there.

McLaren’s decision not to do that has benefitted Verstappen, who is now 40 points off leader Piastri, but the four-time World Champion said he is not concerned with how McLaren goes racing.

“That’s not really my problem is it?” he replied when asked about McLaren’s intra-team choices. “I think it’s a team, they decide what they want to do with the rules and I just focus on my own performances.

“For me, what is the most important is that we have a competitive car so if we have a competitive car and a chance to beat them, we will. So that’s the only thing that I’m focused on.”

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The 2025 title fight is the first since 2021 where Verstappen has had a real threat to his march to the Championship. On that occasion, Verstappen led the standings over Lewis Hamilton from the 16th race of the season meaning he is in the role of hunter in 2025 rather than hunted.

Asked which he prefers, Verstappen again said he was not bothered.

“Honestly, it doesn’t really change a lot,” the 28-year-old said. “Of course, naturally, you want to win, you want to win the Championship.

“I’ve won Championships very late, very early. Now this one is very different, because I think for most of the season, it was a lot harder for us, and to be honest with you, to still be in this fight, it’s very surprising.

“But I take it and now, like I said before, we need to be perfect. But for me, it’s just positive pressure. I’m loving what I’m doing. If the car is competitive, it’s much better to be racing in it than when it’s not.

“So every race that you do, I know until the end, we can’t afford any bad luck or mistakes. But this team, I think, has shown in the past that normally, we perform really well under pressure anyway, and that’s what we’ll try to do till the end.”

Verstappen also described his recent form as an “unbelievable comeback” if it comes off and said it was “impossible” to predict if he will win every race between now and the end of the season.

“Worst case, I finish P3,” he said. “I just want to try and win races till the end of the season.

“I hope it’s possible every weekend, but it’s impossible to know at the moment. We are on a good run, and we also know as a team that it needs to be perfect to the end, to have a chance.

“So if it works, then, great, unbelievable comeback. If it doesn’t work, you just continue. You can be proud of, I think, the end of the season that we’ve had, and the upswing in performance, but we’ll worry about that in Abu Dhabi.”

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