Red Bull F1 chief Helmut Marko 'laughed' at McLaren over Las Vegas GP team orders

Helmut Marko (right) and Max Verstappen (left) laugh at a serious looking Lando Norris (middle) — Photo: © IMAGO

McLaren

Red Bull 'laughed' at McLaren over Las Vegas GP team orders

McLaren were on the back foot against Red Bull

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Wednesday 26 November 2025 13:00 Updated: 16:00

Red Bull F1 chief Helmut Marko has revealed that he thought it was 'the funniest thing' when McLaren told Lando Norris to attack Max Verstappen at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

With 16 laps remaining in Nevada, Verstappen held a fluctuating lead between four and five seconds over Norris.

A message came over the radio from Will Joseph, Norris' race engineer, telling him 'we're going to get Max', a clear signal of intent that they were after the race win.

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What happened next however demonstrated Verstappen's class as he responded by putting in the fastest lap of the race, going on to eventually finish over 20 seconds ahead of his McLaren rival.

Red Bull see the funny side of things

Ultimately McLaren's double disqualification rendered the timings null and void, but Marko has now revealed that he saw the funny side of things back in the Red Bull garage when he heard the team orders.

"He was able to easily maintain the pace of those behind him and therefore save the tyres," Marko told Sky Germany. "We also stayed out longer than everyone else.

"Of course, we knew the condition of the competitors’ tyres and the funniest thing was the message that came from McLaren: ‘Attack Max, overtake him.’ And then he hammered in one fastest lap after another, just to make things clear.

"But he did it with such confidence and ease. We had no problems at all. Lando had some issues at the end, because he was two or three seconds slower. Unfortunately, there was no one there who could capitalise on that.

"But from the first lap... I wouldn’t say [Max] won the start. He won the first corner and practically forced Norris into the mistake."

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F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris Helmut Marko