The McLaren team must be ready for ‘merciless’ Verstappen – Hamilton Advises

Seven-time champion Hamilton has alerted the McLaren title contenders, Oscar Piastri and Norris, about Verstappen’s “cut-throat” nature as the three racers enter the concluding rounds of the championship.

The Australian driver now holds the lead in the championship by a 14-point margin from his teammate Norris, while Verstappen stands 40 points behind from first place on the back of a run of three victories and one second in recent events.

The Mercedes veteran, who battled a heated championship battle with his rival Verstappen in 2021, stated: “In such a situation it’s difficult, the tension mounts. It is a time when you have to block out distractions and block everything from external sources.

“You have to be ruthless and that is what Max behaves, he will claim this away from them if they fail to adopt the same approach.

“It takes deep resolve to fend off someone like Max and the Red Bull vehicle. But also for Piastri or Norris to secure the title, consistency is key, and you've seen that with Verstappen lately.”

The seven-time champion explained that Verstappen had the easiest job as the racer coming from behind. Verstappen had been 104 points behind of Piastri after the Zandvoort race last month.

“There are three incredibly talented drivers and it’s hard to foresee their exact reactions,” he stated.

“Max has won it four times over so he understands what it takes and playing the chaser is considerably less stressful than holding the lead.

“When you're in the lead and someone is chopping away, that affects you mentally more than if you're chasing and there’s no pressure. When leading all is on the line.”

Russell, victorious in the Singapore Grand Prix recently, commented: “The McLaren guys possess the quickest machine so the title is in their hands. But Max and Red Bull are performing a superb effort so you can never discount them.

“There were indications of great pace at the start of the year but they lacked consistency, but currently week in, week out they are excelling.”

Fair Competition at McLaren

Piastri and Norris approach the season’s end able to compete openly with each other and with no internal team rules affecting them – other than avoiding collisions with each other.

Norris was subject to unspecified consequences after colliding with Piastri as he overtook for third place away from Piastri at the first sequence of corners in Singapore.

After the incident of the teammates in the sprint event at the US Grand Prix in the previous round, restrictions are now gone.

“I acknowledge my role for my actions during the sprint race and we are starting this round with no past issues for the pair, focusing on and going racing,” said Piastri.

The Australian, the winner of the Dutch GP, has witnessed his advantage shrink after losing to Norris in each of the past four races, but he noted he was also taken aback Verstappen had entered the title battle in such a short time.

“The run of form Max has displayed after the Italian GP has surprised many,” he explained.

“There were moments previously but there were likewise some pretty big dips. It’s known Red Bull has been applying a lot of things on the RB19 aiming to enhance performance but Verstappen has arrived the contest faster than predicted.”

Nonetheless, when asked if he had concerns regarding Max, Piastri responded: “It's not really something I think about. Max has been steady and competitive the last few weekends but there is no benefit in worrying about or focusing on that.

“The key to me win the championship is optimize performance from my driving, my machine, the squad. Verstappen is there, he's in the fight but ultimately it doesn't change my approach to my driving.”

Lando continued: “Verstappen has shown excellent results recently. The team has been achieving a higher level than McLaren.

“Verstappen has secured multiple Grands Prix and he is a champion. You'd be silly if you didn't want to give Max a chance.

“At the minute, Red Bull is performing stronger, on several occasions they were faster. But we still have chances. Our car is superior in the final rounds and we just have to capitalize on that.”

Verstappen stated: “Certainly our form has been excellent, certainly enjoying the recent success like that and we will try to carry that momentum forward. It’s clear perfection is required until the finish to have a chance, but we focus on to optimize every aspect and see where we end up.”

Pit Lane Incident ‘Entertaining’

Red Bull were penalized a fine after the US Grand Prix, because one of their team members was present on the starting grid past the allowed time as he attempted to take off the markings McLaren placed in the garage area to help Norris place his vehicle accurately.

Norris remarked he viewed the event “highly entertaining, especially because I didn't even use the tape, which added to the humor”.

He stated: “I used it for back up. I didn't need to use it in Austin. We already knew about their actions. {They tried to take tape off