Jos Verstappen tells Mark Webber what he must do at McLaren after Oscar Piastri’s ‘strange’ drop-off

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Oscar Piastri arrives at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix second in the F1 world championship. Piastri had been leading ever since round five in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian was in complete control of the title race after winning the Dutch GP in August, with Lando Norris’ retirement opening up a 34-point gap. But that deficit was overturned in just five weekends.

Previously renowned for his consistency, Piastri hasn’t scored a podium in the last four Grands Prix, a run that began with two crashes in Azerbaijan. Ted Kravitz said Piastri looked like an entirely different driver that weekend.

McLaren insist Piastri isn’t feeling the pressure of his first title race and attribute the alarming gap to Norris in the USA and Mexico to circuit-specific issues.

Jos Verstappen says it’s time for Mark Webber to ‘put his foot down’

In an interview with De Telegraaf, Jos Verstappen, father of title chaser Max, said that Piastri’s drop-off had damaged his ‘reputation’.

He can’t explain the recent trend, but called upon manager Mark Webber to ‘put his foot down internally’ before it’s too late. Webber fought for an F1 title at Red Bull in 2010, losing out to teammate Sebastian Vettel at the finale.

“I find it quite strange what’s happening at McLaren,” he said. “Surely Piastri hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to drive? If I were him, or his manager, I’d definitely put my foot down internally.

“Because now everyone’s wondering if he can handle the pressure. And that’s not good for your own reputation, Piastri’s in this case.”

Verstappen enters the Brazil weekend 35 points off top spot, having closed on Piastri for five straight races but lost ground to Norris in Mexico.

Does Jos Verstappen think McLaren are favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri?

Andrea Stella insists McLaren aren’t emotionally biased towards Norris, even though he’s been with the team since 2019.

And externally, Ralf Schumacher has heard that Zak Brown has no preference. The team say they’re determined to make the title fight as fair as possible.

Verstappen Sr says people ‘automatically’ assume that Norris is the team’s favourite, but he wouldn’t comment on the accusations himself. He did, however, suggest that Piastri should show more ‘fight’.

“It might automatically smell like that, but I have no insight into it,” he said. “But if I were Piastri, I would be fighting back now. Everyone assumed he would become champion, and that perception has changed very quickly.”