Max Verstappen has sent a clear warning to Oscar Piastri, alleging that a driver has ‘sold their soul’ if they accept team orders ‘without a clear reason’.
The Australian racer was on the receiving end of McLaren’s directions during the Italian Grand Prix, when he handed second place over to team-mate Lando Norris after a bad pit stop relegated the Brit, who had been ahead of Piastri all race until that point, to third on the road.
At the end of the season, the three points Norris received from the Monza orders proved critical, as the 26-year-old finished just two points ahead of Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
However, Piastri alleged that the lingering frustrations from the Italian GP influenced his miserable weekend in Azerbaijan. The Baku disaster, in which the Melbourne-racer crashed in Q3 and then again on the opening lap of the Grand Prix, proved to be a turning point in his season.
Asked by Swiss publication Blick whether he would have moved over had he been in Piastri’s position, Verstappen gave an emphatic answer. “Certainly not,” he replied. “If you do that even once without a clear reason, you’ve sold your soul. The team can then do whatever they want with you. And let’s not forget: Piastri was right in the middle of the title fight.”
Verstappen also reiterated his view that he would have wrapped up the title long before the season finale in Abu Dhabi, had he been driving a McLaren car last year. “That’s true,” he confirmed. “But I never actually interfere in my opponents’ internal problems. I can always give them a fighting answer on the track.”
The 28-year-old’s stance is understandable. Despite spending the middle portion of the season driving uncompetitive machinery compared to his two title rivals, Verstappen ended the year with eight wins, a series-high tally. After the Dutch Grand Prix, he was over 100 points behind Piastri, but he finished the campaign 11 points ahead of him in the standings.
Looking ahead to the 2026 campaign, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding Red Bull’s package. With the pecking order still unclear and countless rumours flying around the F1 paddock, Verstappen was unable to offer a concrete prediction for the new campaign.
“The same question is even more difficult to answer for 2026,” he confessed. “None of us have any idea about the new car, the engine. I think we’ll spend more time in the garages than on the track during the first tests starting on January 26th in Barcelona. Hopefully, we’ll all be wiser after the two February tests in Bahrain.”
