Oscar Piastri doubts Max Verstappen-Mercedes rumours will help McLaren in F1 title race

Oscar Piastri has dismissed suggestions that Max Verstappen’s uncertain future and links to Mercedes will aid McLaren’s F1 title bid.

McLaren are currently running away with both F1 titles after 12 rounds in 2025.

McLaren are over 220 points ahead of Ferrari in the race for the constructors’ championship.

Verstappen is their nearest challenger in the drivers’ standings, but he’s 69 points behind Piastri.

The Dutchman’s F1 future has dominated the media headlines in recent months.

However, Piastri expects Verstappen to remain a threat on “most weekends” and that you can’t rule him out.

“I don’t think next year is really of concern for me,” Piastri said. “It’s obviously something for him to manage, and I don’t think it will distract him necessarily.

“And I think in the championship, I’m not really concerned with what Max is doing or how many points behind he is.

“I think he’ll be a threat every weekend, or most weekends. And I think that’s why you can’t rule him out.

“Whether the car has the pace or not, we don’t know, but ultimately I go into each weekend trying to just do the best that I can and worry about that.

“So I’m not that bothered where he is in the championship. He is obviously a bit further back now. It’s quite a big advantage to claw back, but I’m not that concerned either way.”

Verstappen on F1 title chances

With Red Bull slipping further back in the pecking order, Verstappen has conceded that his chances of the title are probably over.

Verstappen said at Silverstone:  “Well, that’s F1 for you. If everyone knew what they had to do, then everyone [would be] winning races, or at least everyone had a chance of winning,” he highlighted. “And in F1, unfortunately, that’s not the case. It’s a very complicated sport.

“Of course, we’re not where we want to be, but we’re still fighting for podiums. I mean, it could be also way worse if you’re driving last.

“So yeah, it’s a work in progress. I think we are trying to find more performance in the car, but also last year we were a bit hurt with our balance issues that we had with the car.

“So we also had to first understand what was going on there. And for sure, that has also hurt probably a little bit, too, to the future development of the car during this year.

“But we’re still trying everything we can to be as competitive as we can be. Now, is that going to be McLaren level? Maybe not. Probably not.

“That’s how F1 goes for you. Sometimes you have dominant years, good years where you can win a lot. Sometimes, maybe not. Or not at all.”