F1\u2019s biggest axe risk; Max reality check… and if Aussie can return<\/a><\/p>\ntalks twist<\/p>\n
SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA – JUNE 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLarenSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Verstappen refused to be drawn on the rumours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have nothing really to add to that,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just focused on what I\u2019m doing here with the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a positive weekend last week, and we want to try and keep that momentum going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notwithstanding that both McLaren drivers are under contract \u2014 Norris until the end of 2027 and Piastri for another year after that \u2014 the assumption is that Piastri would make way in the hypothetical example that Verstappen muscles his way in, given Norris\u2019s title-winning status.<\/p>\n
The Australian, who leads Norris on this year\u2019s points table, said he has no worries about his position in the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really mean much to me,\u201d he said. \u201cMax obviously doesn\u2019t need to be spoken about much in terms of his talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a contract in place. I\u2019ve had multiple reassurances that the team are very happy with me, and I\u2019m very happy with the team, so for me, I\u2019m very happy where I am, happy with the situation I\u2019m in, and I\u2019m just trying to continue the success that we\u2019ve had in the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leclerc and Piastri clash in Austria! | 00:42<\/p>\n
Norris likewise said that his position was secure, and he added that he expected to be partnered with Piastri for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a serious thing,\u201d he said of the Verstappen rumours. \u201cI\u2019m also just excited for my future with McLaren.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still going to be here for many, many more years, so I\u2019m excited for whoever I get partnered with.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the time being, me and Oscar are working very well together, and we\u2019re excited to work together for more years too, so that\u2019s our focus for now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Briton also said he enjoyed a good relationship with Piastri, which believed was crucial to improving the team\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just as good as it was last year, which I think is a very strong place,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s how the team wants us to be as teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the perspective of just focus and kind of being in the zone quite as deep as we were last year at this point is just a little bit different \u2014 that changes maybe how you see things, but honestly, we are just as good, and that\u2019s how we need to be, especially now with being a little bit behind where we want to be as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing and Verstappen\u2019s management have both suggested that improved on-track results would be enough to convince the Dutchman to stay.<\/p>\n
Although McLaren leads Red Bull Racing by 44 points on the constructors championship table, the Austrian Grand Prix suggested their fortunes could be switching.<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing has been the quicker of the two cars on average since the Miami Grand Prix, the first weekend at which teams began bringing major upgrade packages<\/a>, and its development trend has been more steeply positive than McLaren\u2019s.<\/p>\nVerstappen is only three points behind Noris on the title table and four points adrift of Piastri.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lando Norris says multiple drivers are trying to secure seats at McLaren amid rumours Max Verstappen could try…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-775794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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