McLaren drivers warned of increasing Max Verstappen F1 title threat

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has warned McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris that Max Verstappen is "not out" of the drivers' title fight.  Since Red Bull introduced a new floor at the Italian GP, Verstappen has consistently taken points out of Piastri's title advantage.  Across the last three races in Italy, Azerbaijan and Singapore, the four-time world champion has claimed two victories and a second-place, the latter result coming in the most recent round at the Marina Bay Circuit.  Ahead of Monza, Verstappen found himself 104 points adrift of Piastri, a deficit which has been cut almost in half and sits now at 63. Even in Singapore, a venue which has been a notorious bogey ground for Red Bull in recent years, the RB21 worked. Not since Zandvoort, has a McLaren driver finished ahead of Verstappen. Looking at the title fight, Herbert is convinced the 28-year-old remains a genuine threat for a fifth consecutive drivers' title, partly due to the McLaren drivers continuing to battle. Asked by BettingLounge.co.uk who benefitted the most from Singapore, Herbert replied: "I suppose the one who benefitted in many respects is Lando. He's the one who's got closer to Oscar.  "Max has won the last two on a fast track. Singapore is a little bit more technical, 90 degree corners, a track that probably hasn't been the best for Red Bull historically. But they did show that once again they had the pace.  "Max again just showed that he's not out of it at the moment. And because this battle's going on with Oscar and Lando, there's a potential for points to be taken away from them, which happened in Singapore because Max took points off the two McLaren drivers.  "Lando came out of it the best because he's only 22 points behind. But you can't rule out Max. It was a tough race for Max, but he got the job done in difficult situations."