How stubborn can you be?

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has urged McLaren to back Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship fight after the Woking outfit’s double disqualification from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Heading into the final two rounds of the season, Norris leads the standings by 24 points. His team-mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sit equal on points behind the Briton.

McLaren has maintained its approach of allowing its drivers to race fairly throughout the season. It has decided not to back one driver and instead adopt a ‘may the best man win’ mentality. This, understandably, has come under fire at times in the season and has again come into question as the threat of Verstappen increases.

“They must support him,” Steiner argued during The Red Flags Podcast. “Otherwise, I mean, he hasn’t got a chance. If Oscar steals the point from Lando, that would be… Wow. If Oscar is leading the race, Lando is second, and they don’t let Lando pass, I would be shocked.

“How fair do you want to be? Knowing that Lando now has a lead, but it’s not a comfortable lead for the animal coming, it’s like, ‘Wow, do we want to be eaten up by the animal, or do we try to help one guy?'”

He added in response to McLaren’s current driver management philosophy: “How stubborn can you be?”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

The former Haas chief also discussed Norris’s bold, lunging move at the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, claiming that Verstappen “tricked” Norris into making the move. After starting from pole position, the McLaren driver quickly moved over to block Verstappen into Turn 1. However, he braked late and ran deep into the corner, allowing the four-time champion the opportunity to take the lead.

“Max. He qualified second, but he tricked Lando into making a mistake on the start,” Steiner explained. “He couldn’t win the start, so he basically tricked him into making a mistake and Lando went for it.”