McLaren must be ready for ‘cut-throat’ Verstappen – Hamilton

As the three McLaren champions’ Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris approach the final five races of the season, Lewis Hamilton has cautioned them about Max Verstappen’s “cut-throat” persona.

Verstappen is 40 points behind Piastri, who has won three races and finished second in the previous four races, while Norris holds the championship lead by 14 points.

In that case, Hamilton and Verstappen engaged in a fierce championship battle in 2021, Hamilton said, “The pressure is high.” You must raise your blinkers and block everything from the outside at this time.

If they don’t do the same, Max will take this from them because you must be competitive, which is what Max is.

You must hold off on someone like Max and the vehicle he drives. Consistentness is important, and you can see that from Max in the last few races, but also for either of them to win.

Verstappen, the seven-time champion, claimed that after the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, he was 104 points adrift of Piastri.

Hamilton remarked, “You have three incredibly talented drivers, and I can’t foresee how they’ll act.”

“Max has won it four times, so he understands what it’s like, and being the hunter is much simpler than being the defender,” he said.

When you’re in the lead and someone is slashing your lead, you’re more likely to lose than if you’re chasing after all. You have nothing to lose in the lead.

The McLaren drivers have the fastest car, according to George Russell, the Mercedes driver, who won in Singapore two races ago. You can never deny Max and Red Bull for doing a fantastic job.

The McLaren drivers have no internal team rules to follow after the final five races other than refraining from colliding with one another.

After colliding with Piastri while falling third to him at the first sequence of corners in Singapore, Norris was facing undefined “repercussions.”

These have now been eliminated following the collision between the two at the US Grand Prix last weekend.

“We are starting this weekend with a clean slate for both of us, just going out and going racing,” said Piastri, adding that there is a certain degree of responsibility on my side in the sprint.

The Australian, who won at Zandvoort, said he was surprised Verstappen had entered the race so quickly but that his lead had weakened after Norris had lost each of his previous four races.

He has come a bit of a surprise because of his form since Monza, according to Piastri.

“There were some pretty significant dips earlier in the season,” according to the statement. Although we are aware that they have been attempting to make things better, he has arrived sooner than I had anticipated.

However, Piastri responded, “It’s not really something I think about,” when asked if he was concerned about Verstappen. There is no benefit in worrying or focusing on something because he has been consistent and strong over the last few weekends.

The key to a championship win is to maximize the best possible use of the team, car, and myself. He is present, and he is engaged in combat, but ultimately nothing about how I approach my racing.

Max has been in excellent form for about a month, Norris continued. They’ve performed better than we have.

He is Max Verstappen, and he has won a lot of races. If you didn’t want to give Max a chance, you’d be foolish.

They are currently in better shape, and in many races, they have been quicker. However, chances are still present. We just need to use a better car until the end of the season when it becomes available.

After the US Grand Prix, Red Bull issued a fine of 50, 000 euros (£43, 500) for a team member who was on the grid after the grid was supposed to be cleared because he had attempted to remove the tape McLaren had placed on the pit wall to help Norris park his car in the correct spot.

Norris claimed that the circumstance was “very amusing, especially because I didn’t even use the tape, which is even better.”

He continued, “I used it for backup.” In Austin, I wasn’t required to use it. They were already doing it, we all knew. They attempted to remove the tape, but they failed, and they were fined. Quite amusing.

Red Bull’s actions were described as “gambling,” according to Piastri, who added that it was their right to do so. Too late to do it, they were on the grid. Everyone will decide whether or not it is necessary.