Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner tips Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to get green light to duke it out

Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s slump has put Oscar Piastri in the box seat in the drivers’ championship, but with the gap getting bigger quickly, the door looks set to be opened for a rival closer to home.

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has predicted Max Verstappen falling behind in the championship race will give McLaren free rein to allow their drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to duke it out for the drivers’ championship this year.

As he declared title leader Piastri already had “a finger” on the world championship, Steiner said McLaren would be forced to back the “better horse” if Verstappen was hovering in the title fight.

Red Bull’s four-time world champion slipped to 49 points behind Piastri after a disastrous Spanish Grand Prix when he was hit with a 10-second penalty for his collision with George Russell, which dropped him from fifth to 10th in the final classifications.

What’s more, Verstappen was also given three penalty points on his super licence, taking him to 11 – just one shy of a race ban if he transgresses again.

Piastri holds a 10-point lead over teammate Norris after his win in Barcelona – the Australian’s fifth victory from the opening nine rounds of the season.

Asked if Piastri had a hand or finger on the championship already, Steiner said Norris could not yet be dismissed, but added Verstappen’s slide would allow the McLaren duo to battle it out to the finish.

“I think he (Piastri) has a finger on it,” Steiner said on The Red Flags Podcast.

“As we saw in Monte Carlo, Lando, we cannot write him off. The good thing is that McLaren lets them race.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have opened up a gap on Max Verstappen in the championship standings. Picture: Clive Rose/Getty Images

“I believe that honestly after speaking with (McLaren team principal) Andrea (Stella) as well because (chief executive) Zak (Brown) was not there, they let them race and why would they not let them race because Max now is well behind.

“If Max would be close, I think they would say we need to put our money on the better horse, on the horse which is in front.”

After four consecutive world title wins for Verstappen, Steiner said the Dutchman’s dream of a fifth straight was not yet over – but it was getting close to being out of reach.

“At the moment, from behind I think Max …. they (Red Bull) need some magic (to) happen that Max can catch them,” Steiner said.

“It’s not over, I wouldn’t say it’s over but it’s getting close to being over.”

Oscar Piastri leads the drivers’ standings after nine races. (Photo by Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Addressing how McLaren would manage the intra-team battle moving forward, Stella told reporters after the Spanish GP the team briefings had not become more intense and praised the manner the pair had approached the “internal competition”.

“The briefing is not getting, like, tougher. The conversations are the same that we always have,” Stella said.

“Obviously, when the two drivers start one next to each other and there is 800 metres to corner one, you might have to reiterate every detail of the way we go racing together.

“But so far I just can only be grateful to Lando and Oscar, who have approached this internal competition with a great sense of responsibility and pretty much sticking to the letter to what we are our racing principles and approach.”

Originally published as Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner tips Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to get green light to duke it out