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Lewis Hamilton has warned the McLaren championship hopefuls, Oscar Piastri and Norris, concerning Verstappen’s “ruthless” approach as the trio approach the final five races of the championship.

Piastri is ahead in the championship by 14 points from Norris, while Verstappen is positioned 40 points behind from the top after a run of three victories and one second in the past four races.

Hamilton, who battled an intense and bitter duel for the crown with his rival Verstappen in 2021, said: “In such a situation it's challenging, the pressure is high. At this point you must focus entirely and shut out everything from outside noise.

“It’s necessary to be ruthless and that is what Max is, he intends to snatch this from the McLaren duo unless they adopt the same approach.

“It takes deep resolve to hold off someone like Max and the car he is in. Additionally for either of them to secure the title, consistency is key, and this has been evident in Max’s performances in the last few races.”

The experienced champion noted that Max was in the most comfortable position as the competitor coming from behind. Verstappen had been 104 points adrift from the lead after the Zandvoort race in late August.

“We see three incredibly talented competitors and I’m unsure their exact reactions,” he stated.

“Max has won it four times so he is aware of what it takes and being the hunter is much easier than defending a position.

“As the frontrunner and another driver is gaining, that plays on you rather than when you are behind and you have nothing to lose. As the championship leader the stakes are high.”

Russell, who won Singapore recently, commented: “The McLaren guys possess the quickest machine so it's theirs to lose. But Max and Red Bull are doing an amazing job so you can never discount them.

“There were indications of impressive performance initially but they lacked consistency, whereas now consistently they are dominating.”

Fair Competition at McLaren

The teammates enter the last rounds with no team orders between themselves and with no internal team rules in place – aside from steering clear of incidents between them.

Lando was subject to unspecified consequences after colliding with his teammate when securing P3 from his teammate during the initial turns in the Singapore GP.

Following the crash of the teammates during the sprint race start at the American race in the previous round, the team has lifted these.

“I acknowledge my role for my actions in that event and we begin this round with no past issues for the pair, just going out and going racing,” Piastri stated.

The McLaren rookie, victorious at Zandvoort, has experienced his advantage shrink after being beaten by his teammate in recent Grands Prix, but he noted he had also been surprised Verstappen had joined the fight so swiftly.

“The streak he's had since Monza was somewhat unexpected,” he explained.

“There were moments earlier in the season but there were also significant drops. Everyone is aware they have been throwing many updates on the RB19 trying to improve it but Max has joined the championship battle faster than predicted.”

Yet, when asked if he was concerned regarding Max, he replied: “This isn’t something I think about. Verstappen has shown steady and competitive the last few weekends but there’s no point in worrying about or focusing on that.

“What will assist securing the title is optimize performance personally, my machine, the squad. He's there, he’s contending but finally it doesn't change the way I handle competition.”

Norris stated: “Max displayed very good form over the past weeks. The team has been achieving better than we have.

“Verstappen has secured a good amount of races and he is a champion. One would be foolish if you didn't want to give Max a chance.

“At the minute, they are in better form, on several occasions they have been quicker. But we still have chances. McLaren possesses the quicker machine for the remaining races and we must simply utilize this advantage.”

Verstappen said: “It's clear we had a good run, really appreciating it a lot more in this way and we intend to carry that momentum forward. We are aware perfection is required to the end to be in contention, but we just try to optimize every aspect and see where we end up.”

Team Tactics ‘Pretty Funny’

The Red Bull team were penalized 50,000 euros following the American GP, after a Red Bull staff member remained on the grid after it was supposed to be cleared because he was trying to take off the markings McLaren placed along the pit lane to guide Norris park his car accurately.

Norris said he considered the incident “highly entertaining, especially because I hadn’t utilized the tape, making it even funnier”.

He stated: “It was there for back up. I didn't need to use it at the race. It was known about their actions. {They tried to take tape off