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Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has weighed in on the McLaren team orders that dominated the front of the grid during the 2025 Formula 1 season.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri led the drivers’ championship for longer than anyone else in 2025.
When Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix from Red Bull star Max Verstappen, he was 34 points clear of Lando Norris and had a three-figure advantage over the Dutchman.
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However, going into the final race in Abu Dhabi, Piastri was suddenly the outsider, having had a torrid run of form during the final third of the campaign.
Piastri knew he would need to listen to team orders at the Yas Marina circuit if Norris looked like he was going to lose the championship to Verstappen on the final day.
He will be thankful that it never came to that, but Verstappen has now shared his thoughts on how Piastri acted at several points during the season when he was in a commanding position in the championship.
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Max Verstappen tells Oscar Piastri you ‘sold your soul’ after listening to McLaren team orders
Piastri’s camp was left upset in Monza, when a slow pit stop for Norris saw him asked to give a position back that created a six-point swing in the British driver’s favour.
Norris then received no instructions to hand a place back to Piastri in Singapore despite making contact with his teammate to complete an overtake on the opening lap.
McLaren then decided not to split their strategies in Qatar, costing the 24-year-old the victory he needed to keep his faint championship hopes alive.
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In an interview with Blick, Verstappen was asked if he would have let Norris go if he was asked to by McLaren in Piastri’s situation and said: “Certainly not. If you do that even once without a clear reason, you’ve sold your soul. The team can then do whatever they want with you. And let’s not forget: Piastri was right in the middle of the title fight.”
On top of this, he was asked about comments where he suggested he would have won the championship far earlier if he were in a McLaren in 2025, and continued: “That’s true. But I never actually interfere in my opponents’ internal problems. I can always give them a fighting answer on the track.”
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Max Verstappen gives his verdict on the 2025 Formula 1 rookies
There were a handful of new drivers on the grid last year, and many of them saw Verstappen as a de facto mentor.
Kimi Antonelli was very complimentary about Verstappen, but it was put to the four-time world champion that on a previous occasion the Italian teenager had called him a ‘cannibal’.
He responded: “[Antonelli is] a nice guy who, of all the 2025 rookies driving the factory Mercedes, was under the most pressure.
“Bearman, Hadjar, or Bortoleto certainly had an easier time shining in less powerful cars.
Verstappen was then asked if he had any friends in F1, and with a smile, he said: “The more you win, the fewer drivers you can easily bump into in the paddock.
“I have a particularly good relationship with [Gabriel] Bortoleto because we’ve already driven several sim races on the same team.
“Plus, I helped him out a bit in Formula 3 and Formula 2 back in the day. Gabriel is a normal person.”
Verstappen won’t be put in a similar situation to Piastri at Red Bull this year, with Isack Hadjar unlikely to be challenging for race wins straight away after his promotion from Racing Bulls.
It’s hard to imagine the Dutchman ever not being the undisputed number one driver with Red Bull, and maybe Piastri might have to consider his options if McLaren continue to try and be as fair as possible at a detriment to both drivers.
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