Zak Brown raised eyebrows when he recently stated that he would rather see Max Verstappen win the title than deny either of his McLaren drivers the chance at the championship. The American CEO refuses to designate a first driver, believing that both Norris and Oscar Piastri are in contention for the world title. This is nonsense, thinks former team boss Günther Steiner – he expects McLaren to soon have to make concrete arrangements about team orders.
“I feel good about that,” Zak Brown said about not announcing team orders. “Why would you deny a driver the championship if he has a serious chance at the title? That’s not right at all. If you have two drivers who are first and second in the championship,” he explained, “and the difference between them is less than one second place, how can you consider giving one of them a supporting role? We’re just not going to do that.”
“No, I don’t believe that at all,” Günther Steiner responded in the Red Flags podcast. “You want to win as much as possible, so of course you also care about the drivers’ championship. Normally, the drivers’ title is a given if you’re the best constructor, but Max Verstappen proved last year that he has a car with which only he can win. That’s the only reason Red Bull lost then.”
McLaren Needs to Make Decisions
In the aftermath of Max Verstappen‘s second victory in 2025, Steiner suggested that McLaren needs to make a decision about who they want to win the title. Waiting any longer is pointless. The former team boss shared what he would do if he were in Andrea Stella’s shoes: “I would tell the drivers that they need to win that title, and then see how they react. You have to make your goal clear.”
“I would wait,” Steiner responded to the question of whether McLaren should already be giving team orders in Monaco. “It remains to be seen how fast the Red Bull really is. But you can’t wait too long, because then it’s too late. After the race, I would tell them: ‘Whoever is in the lead, we will support for the world championship.’ You don’t leave that decision to the drivers. After all, the team has the data and runs the simulations. That needs to happen in the upcoming races. Not yet in Monaco – that’s really the exception. But if it turns out that Verstappen has more speed, you will have to make decisions.”
