Max Verstappen offered advice to McLaren's management.

      McLaren is having one of the best seasons in its history this year: the team clinched the constructors' title early, its drivers occupy the top two positions in the drivers' standings, and there is a strong chance the title will go to either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. While the Australian led through the first three quarters of the season, Norris moved ahead in the final stage of the championship and has been performing very confidently lately.

      Only Max Verstappen can stop the McLaren duo; since the Italian Grand Prix he has scored more points than Norris. The Red Bull Racing driver, speaking on the Brazilian podcast Pelas Pistas, gave his own take on what is happening in the world championship. His words could be read as hints about several teams, but he spoke specifically about the situation at McLaren.

      Max Verstappen: "In Formula 1, when a driver who can already be considered a veteran reaches the peak of his career, his results begin to decline. Then, so the team doesn't suffer and fall backwards, you need to bring in another, younger and sufficiently talented driver who can potentially reach a high level. That's exactly how the management of Real Madrid operates, and I think that's the right approach, although personally I'm a Barcelona fan. Real have a great core squad, but they always replace veterans with young talented players at the right time. When an F1 team has two top drivers, they will inevitably get in each other's way. And if that team dominates the championship, then eventually a split will inevitably occur in its ranks and problems will begin. If I were the team principal, I would never take such a risk. Moreover, when both are fighting for the title, the atmosphere in such a team will become increasingly tense — I think we'll soon see that in Formula 1, given how the situation is unfolding now."

      With three races remaining Norris leads his teammate by 24 points, while Verstappen in turn trails Piastri by 25 points. Since the Qatar GP program includes a sprint, a maximum of 83 points is available across these three rounds, so the title fight will go down to the finale and it is still hard to predict how it will end.