Guenther Steiner asks Oscar Piastri to leave McLaren in the aftermath of Lando Norris' potential title win

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has advised Oscar Piastri to consider leaving McLaren if he cannot recover from his current slump. After Lando Norris’ charge toward a potential world title, Steiner suggested that a move away from the team might be his best option if he fails to rebound next year.

Piastri’s title campaign has fallen apart after a dominant first half of the season. The McLaren driver, who had stood on the podium in 14 of the opening 16 races and led the standings for most of the year, has finished outside the podium in the last five races. His struggles began after the controversial team orders at Monza, where McLaren instructed him to let Norris through following a slow pit stop.

Next week in Baku, Piastri's season began to unravel completely. Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Steiner was asked about what the Australian’s current form could mean for his future if Norris clinches the 2025 title. He said:

“Let’s start with Oscar. I think if that is happening, he just needs to regroup over the winter and come back stronger than before. Otherwise, if he doesn’t come back stronger, I think the best is he changes team then. That’s my opinion about it because otherwise you don’t get it back. But he could come back, because I still rate him highly.” (7:59 onwards)

Oscar Piastri has gone from leading Lando Norris by 24 points to now trailing him by 34, picking up three consecutive fifth-place finishes and a Sprint DNF at Interlagos. Steiner continued acknowledging Norris’ potential breakthrough:

“What does it do for Lando? Obviously, becoming world champion, it puts you in a different bracket of drivers... and I think his confidence will be very high. So, what does it do for McLaren?... We don’t know who is where next year with the new regulations, but for sure it proves them right - what they did - that they didn't interfere in the championship battle.”

Norris’ back-to-back victories in Mexico and Brazil have put him in the best position for the title, according to Steiner. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, closely trails the McLarens. With the final three rounds in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi left, Norris leads the standings with 390 points, ahead of Piastri (366) and Verstappen (341).

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Guenther Steiner defends Oscar Piastri’s Brazil GP penalty: "The stewards don’t help themselves"

(L-R) Charles Leclerc (16), Lando Norris (4), and Oscar Piastri at Turn 1. Source: Getty

During the aforementioned podcast, Guenther Steiner also weighed in on the 10-second penalty Oscar Piastri received at the Brazilian Grand Prix, calling it another example of overregulation in modern F1. On lap six, the 24-year-old Australian made an ambitious move down the inside of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli on Turn 1, resulting in contact that spun the Italian and collected Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc’s SF-25 suffered front suspension damage and retired. The stewards found Piastri at fault, as he didn't have enough overlap before the apex and caused the collision. The Australian served his 10-second penalty during his pit stop, losing vital track position, but recovered with a P5 finish.

Steiner, however, felt the decision was too harsh for Oscar Piastri.

“The stewards don’t help themselves... Why don’t (McLaren) go there and at least say something to the stewards? Even Charles Leclerc said it wasn’t Oscar’s fault... But three wide and it’s the first lap. "At some stage with all these rules and 10 seconds instead of five and all that stuff, where does racing end? We just line up and make sure we don’t even look at anybody because you get a penalty. The fans don’t like that.” (9:40 onwards)

McLaren tried a one-stop strategy, bringing Oscar Piastri in on lap 39 for softs after extending his opening stint. Norris, meanwhile, pitted earlier on lap 31 for a flawless 2.2-second stop and controlled the race from the front, finishing ahead of Antonelli and Max Verstappen.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam