![\"Steiner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/XPB_1380680_HiRes.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGuenther Steiner says Oscar Piastri should leave McLaren if he doesn’t win the championship with them. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGuenther Steiner says Oscar Piastri should leave McLaren if he doesn’t win the championship with them. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
Speaking on the Red Flags Podcast, Steiner said Piastri\u2019s future at McLaren should hinge on the outcome of the final three rounds, with the 24-year-old now 24 points behind teammate Lando Norris and just 25 ahead of Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially if he doesn\u2019t win the championship, I think he has got a good chance to get in any other good car,\u201d Steiner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good driver, and change sometimes is good. He\u2019s young enough, he can adapt to it. He should and I think he will. That\u2019s my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steiner argued that anything less than a reset over the winter break should force Piastri to consider moving on.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just needs to regroup over the winter and come back stronger than before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOtherwise, if he doesn\u2019t come back stronger, I think the best for him is that he changes teams then. But he could come back because I still rate him highly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Piastri led the standings for 15 rounds between the Saudi Arabia and United States grands prix but has endured a bruising run since, managing only one podium since his Dutch Grand Prix win in August while crashing out of both the Austin and Sao Paulo sprint races and retiring in Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n
The slump has opened the door for both Norris and a resurgent Verstappen, who Steiner believes will overhaul the Australian in the standings if the trend continues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not? He continues to do it,\u201d Steiner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you say Oscar is now destroyed mentally, then Max will be ahead of him, absolutely.<\/p>\n
\u201cMax is motivated, as we\u2019ve seen in Brazil. He didn\u2019t give up after a crappy qualifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe rolled his sleeves up and made it better and finished on the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, with the Australian heading into the Las Vegas\u2013Qatar\u2013Abu Dhabi triple-header trying to steady a championship campaign that has slipped after a run of poor results, questions continue to swirl in the paddock about McLaren\u2019s approach, with some claiming the team has favoured Lando Norris at crucial moments.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s last F1 World Champion, Alan Jones, weighed in on the debate, telling the ABC the claims are \u201ccompletely baseless\u201d and insisting both drivers are being treated equally.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I think it\u2019s the greatest load of nonsense of all time,\u201d Jones said, adding that similar accusations have surfaced in countless past title fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single season we come across this bullshit, every time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s either Mark Webber against Vettel or it\u2019s somebody [else]. It\u2019s always at them \u2018oh he\u2019s got a better car than me\u2019 or \u2018he\u2019s getting preferential treatment\u2019, it\u2019s absolute crap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said McLaren would never compromise one car to benefit another in a championship battle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese teams don\u2019t spend absolute fortunes travelling halfway around the world to stymie one car or give preference to the other,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can assure you both these cars are getting the same sort of treatment. I know Zak Brown [McLaren CEO] very well, he\u2019s a good racer, and he\u2019d be giving both these blokes equal chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also blamed the conspiracy theories on armchair experts misreading a complex sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you get all the rare experts coming out of the woodwork\u2026 Half of them wouldn\u2019t know one end of a car from another\u2026 It\u2019s just nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Las Vegas Grand Prix takes place this weekend at the Las Vegas Street Circuit.<\/p>\n
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