It's Clear Max Verstappen Lives Rent-Free in McLaren's Heads

The neon haze of Las Vegas had barely faded when McLaren’s nightmare triple-header kicked off with a thud. Last weekend, under the Strip’s electric glow, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crossed the line in P2 and P4—solid points in a championship fight that was already razor-thin. But post-race scrutineering turned triumph to ash.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Both McLarens were disqualified for excessive skid block wear, a technical infringement born from the cars’ aggressive setup and unexpected porpoising that chewed through the plank like it was made of tissue. Norris, leading the Drivers’ Championship, watched 18 points evaporate, his lead slashed to 24 over Piastri and Verstappen. Max? He dominated for the win, smirking from the shadows.

“We pushed too hard,” team principal Andrea Stella admitted later, but the paddock whispered a different truth: McLaren had dialed the ride height low to chase every tenth, haunted by the need to outpace a Red Bull that, even in its winter slump, never truly slept. Verstappen, starting from pole but nursing setup woes, had led early before fading. Yet in disqualification’s cruel rewrite, he was gifted the position—and the psychological edge. “They’ll be thinking about this one,” he said post-race, eyes glinting.

Cut to Lusail, Qatar, this weekend. The desert circuit shimmered under floodlights, and McLaren arrived hungry, porpoising fixed, cars dialed in for dominance. Piastri snatched pole in the Sprint, Norris right behind, and the main Grand Prix qualifying locked them P1 and P2. Verstappen? A scrappy P3, and no match for the speed of the Rob Marshall designed McLarens.

Lap 7 shattered it all. Nico Hulkenberg tangled with Pierre Gasly in the sprint’s aftermath debris, triggering a Safety Car that draped the field like a yellow shroud. Piastri led, Norris lurked third, Verstappen sandwiched in P2. The call came fast from Woking: stay out. Flexibility for another caution, they reasoned. Clean air, fresh tires later.

But Red Bull didn’t hesitate—Verstappen pitted, emerging on hards with a track position coup. Ferrari followed. Mercedes. Everyone but McLaren.

The restart was carnage for the papaya squad. Piastri and Norris, now on older rubber, watched Verstappen’s blue missile in their mirrors. Radios erupted.

“Lando. We need to push, open as much a gap to Max as possible.”

“Copy, but tires are sliding everywhere. What the hell happened?”

The answer: overthought paralysis. Stella later confessed they “didn’t expect” the field to pit en masse, a misread that handed Verstappen free real estate. McLaren’s pace was there—but degradation bit hard, and no second Safety Car materialized to bail them out of their stupidity.

Max nursed his advantage like a pro, crossing the line 8 seconds clear for victory number 70, his championship defense stretched but unbroken. Piastri salvaged P2, Norris P4, but the one-two they should have had slipped away.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing lifts his trophy on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Lusail International Circuit on November 30, 2025 in Lusail City, Qatar. (Photo by Andrew Ferraro/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

In the cooldown room, Piastri stared at the floor, speechless. Norris? “Just want to go to bed.” Verstappen, helmet off, grinned that boyish grin. “They had the speed,” he shrugged to Sky Sports. “But strategy… sometimes you think too much about what the other guy might do.”

Two races. Two self-inflicted wounds. Las Vegas: a setup gamble backfired under the pressure to match Max’s qualifying bite. Qatar: a pit-lane freeze, eyes darting to the Red Bull garage, second-guessing into oblivion. Verstappen didn’t lift a finger beyond driving clean; McLaren handed him the narrative on a platter.

Verstappen has now won five of the last eight races, not with the best car but with more skill and decision-making behind the wheel.

Max living rent-free in their heads as the Abu Dhabi finale looms? He’s got a penthouse suite, complete with mirrors reflecting every papaya what-if. As the circus rolls to Yas Marina, one question hangs: can they evict him from their heads before the checkered flag falls?