Source: REUTERS / Rula Rouhana
[Saba Sports News] On the current F1 driver points board, Max Verstappen is 8 points behind Lando Norris. In response, Le Mans champion Nick Catsburg advised the Dutch driver: “It’s time for your father to take action.” The veteran racer revealed to the media that the Verstappen father and son are applying pressure to the McLaren team through a “two-pronged approach” – Verstappen on the track questions the legality of the MCL39 car, while Jos Verstappen spreads technical disputes on social media, intending to sow the seeds of suspicion between Norris and Oscar Piastri. This interference beyond the competitive level is pushing the F1 championship to a new dimension. Among them, the “rear wing gate” has become the first battlefield of this psychological warfare. The video of “McLaren rear wing abnormal movement” forwarded by Jos Verstappen on social media has caused a sensation, and although the FIA ruled it legal, the controversy has successfully disturbed the opponent’s mentality. However, McLaren team leader Andrea Stella’s response is textbook level. He not only publicly invited Verstappen to test drive the MCL39 car but also arranged for the two drivers to jointly develop car settings, using transparency to resolve the divide and rule tactic. This unity is exactly what the Red Bull team fears the most, and perhaps what the Verstappen father and son really want to break down is the psychological firewall that McLaren team has built with data transparency.