Guenther Steiner warns McLaren of ‘inevitable’ outcome now they have closed in on 2025 title

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McLaren are now in the lucrative position of having effectively wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship and can focus on the Drivers’ title battle.

Oscar Piastri leads Lando Norris at the halfway point of the season, but the Briton has closed in on his Australian counterpart with victories in three of the last four races.

It was looking like Piastri would win at Silverstone before a Safety Car infringement cost him, and in Hungary, he lost out to Norris after the Briton made a one-stop strategy work.

Piastri has been tipped to be the title favourite by various people in the F1 paddock, simply because he makes fewer mistakes than Norris and has a better team around him.

Now that McLaren can focus more on the title battle between both their drivers, Guenther Steiner has warned them of an ‘inevitable’ outcome in an interview with German outlet web.de.

Guenther Steiner warns McLaren of ‘inevitable’ crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

Steiner is famous for his outbursts when things went wrong during his time at Haas as team principal, notably his expletive-ridden rant towards his drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen after they collided at Silverstone.

Although Norris and Piastri have already been caught up in a crash in Canada earlier this year, Steiner has warned they could see another incident as tensions heat up.

“This can happen at any time. It has almost crashed several times. There was often luck in the game. And Lando just makes too many small mistakes,” said Steiner.

“In Canada, he wanted to go through a gap that wasn’t there. It was pure luck that Oscar didn’t collect a flatfoot. That’s why I say: A crash between the two at some point is almost inevitable.”

Guenther Steiner explains why McLaren have to let their drivers race

Racing is in McLaren’s team name but often teams will take over if they feel their position of being at the top is threatened by a rival.

McLaren used team orders last year to help Norris close in on Max Verstappen, but even in the early parts of the season this year, they have given both drivers equal terms to fight for wins.

Steiner thinks this is key to ensuring people within the team are motivated: “I’m glad they let them drive freely. That’s what we want to see. Both are at eye level, how do you want to make one number two?

“That would be the total motivation killer. Formula 1 also lives on emotions. If you say now that one must support the other, then you lose some of the magic. They win the Constructors’ World Championship anyway. So: let it drive freely!”

Andrea Stella praised the relationship between Norris and Piastri, which has remained unaffected by their on-track skirmishes, and has been impressed by their professionalism when both are competing for their first title.