Guenther Steiner has scoffed at claims that McLaren would rather lose the World title than deny one driver the opportunity, saying he does “not buy it”.

Formula 1 is already a third of the way into the F12025 championship where McLaren are holding down the 1-2 in the Drivers’ standings, as well as having a healthy lead in the teams’ battle.

McLaren ‘comfortable’ losing the World title

Oscar Piastri sits on top of the log with 146 points to his team-mate Lando Norris’ 133, with Max Verstappen only a further nine of the pace.

The close competition between the McLaren team-mates at the front has seen the question of team orders arise at least twice this season; Japan and Imola.

While at Suzuka, it was Piastri wanting to pass then-championship leader Norris as they chased Verstappen, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, it was Norris wanting an easy overtake on current championship leader Piastri. And again, it was while the team-mates were chasing Verstappen.

In both instances, McLaren did not issue team orders for a driver swap.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown told PlanetF1.com’s Mat Coch that he’s prepared to see neither of his McLaren drivers win the title rather than deny one the opportunity.

“I’m comfortable with that,” Brown said. “I’m comfortable with that because the other scenario is, how do you take a driver out of the championship that’s competing for the championship? That’s not right at all.

“When you’ve got two drivers first and second in the championship,” he continued, “and are separated by less than one second place finish, how do you possibly even consider standing one down into a supporting role? There’s just no way we will.”

F1 2025: The season’s winners and losers

👉 The results of the F1 2025 championship

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

However, put to Steiner the ‘narrative that they don’t care about the Drivers’ Championship’, the former F1 team boss scoffed at that.

“No, I do not buy it because you want to win as much as possible,” Steiner told the Red Flag podcast. “You cannot not care about the Drivers’ Championship because you want that as well.

“Normally if you win the Constructors’, the Drivers’ comes with it normally. Last year it was an exception because you’ve got Max in a car where there is only one guy which can win with that car, the other one struggled. Therefore, Red Bull lost it.”

In the wake of Verstappen’s second Grand Prix win of the season at Imola, where Red Bull took a notable step forward with their upgrades for the RB21, Steiner has suggested Brown and team boss Andrea Stella need to make a call on who to pick for the World title.

And it’s a call he says they cannot wait too long to make.

“I would speak with the drivers and tell them we need to win this championship and see how they react,” he said of issuing team orders. “But you need to bring it to them, ‘this is what you need to do, this is our target’.”

Asked if he’d do it as early as Monaco, he replied: “I would wait. It needs to be found out how fast the Red Bull really is. But you cannot wait too long because then it’s too late.

“Tell them after race ‘this’, ‘who is in front is going to do for the World Championship’.

“You’re not asking the driver when to do it. You and the team, you’re doing simulations with the numbers. When do we need to decide not to lose this championship, basing your simulation on better results for Max and to see what you need to do to win this championship.

“That’s what I would be doing.

“And I think it should be in the next few races. Not in Monte Carlo, because Monte Carlo is out there. But if Max really has got more speed, you need to work on it.”

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