F1 News: McLaren left with no choice but to sign Max Verstappen

Credit for photo: IMAGO x GPFANS — Photo: © IMAGO

McLaren F1

McLaren left with no choice but to sign Max Verstappen

Come on, McLaren. Do something!

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Sunday 9 August 2026 20:58

Make us your Google favorite

As it stands McLaren will enter 2027 with the stable F1 driver partnership of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but that's a problem and it shouldn't be.

Norris is the defending world champion and showed his top-level ability with a stunning win at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.

Piastri has at times struggled following the collapse of his title dream in 2025, but is still a damn good driver and has proven his worth to McLaren.

Article continues under video

So what's the problem? It's not the driver relationship. F1 team boss Andrea Stella claims there is no hangover from the intra-team title battle from last season that saw Norris pip Piastri at the final race.

F1 Silly Season 2026: Verstappen, Mercedes and every driver move

McLaren have an odd problem

The issue is one McLaren won't even believe they have. But they do, and for F1's second most successful team of all time with 23 world championships, it should never have reached this point. That being, well, they are just a bit boring.

Only Ferrari are a more iconic F1 brand than McLaren - McLaren is the incredibly cool James Hunt, it's the reflection of perfectionist Ron Dennis, it's weapon of choice for F1 legend Ayrton Senna. It's the perfect foundation for Britain's greatest driver of all time in Lewis Hamilton.

That's only part of the story too. Many iconic names and world champions have driven for McLaren and wanted to drive for McLaren, put simply they should be England's Ferrari in terms of interest.

Both Niki Lauda (left) and James Hunt won world championships with McLaren

Yet they are not. They are big, don't get me wrong. But they fall short. What I mean is even as reigning world champions, there is more interest in other areas of F1 right now.

For instance, Hamilton's Ferrari story, Max Verstappen's Red Bull dilemma and Mercedes wonder kid Kimi Antonelli are all bigger draws.

If we are being honest, even Aston Martin and Honda are bigger given the Adrian Newey and Fernando Alonso links, and they only have one point so far this season.

Now this isn't a personal attack on McLaren, it's great to see them at the front end again after the horror years of the 2010s and early 2020s, but there's a spark missing from the team.

How to make McLaren great again

It's an easy fix though - they just have to convince Verstappen to capitalise on the exit clause at Red Bull that will allow him to join the Woking outfit for 2027.

This is not a pipedream, McLaren have already pinched Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase for 2028, and have all the tools to convince the mighty Dutchman that his F1 future lies with them.

But while McLaren, and especially Zak Brown, make no secret of wanting Verstappen to drive their cars, they won't make the ruthless call needed to do it.

It means making the extremely tough decision to axe Norris or Piastri. That can appear aggressive, or too upsetting for the comfortable balance the team has.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been McLaren team-mate since 2023

Why won't McLaren sign Max Verstappen?

McLaren is all about fairness, 'papaya rules' and having drivers under their control. Verstappen joining for 2027 throws the team out of rhythm - Norris and Piastri work well as equal status. Verstappen is the No.1 driver in F1 and won't settle for that sort of arrangement. On Planet Max, the development of an F1 car is focused around him and him only.

McLaren would sign Verstappen, but not at any cost, and certainly not one that could cause immediate disruption. This is where the team can come unstuck.

If McLaren were a Simpsons character they would be Ned Flanders. No immediate faults, everything gels and works, and you certainly can't hate them. But they lack an ingredient that makes them interesting.

That attainable ingredient is Verstappen, but with no urgent incentive to make a change or take a dang-diddly risk, McLaren will keep running under the radar as ol' steady Neddy.

McLaren as a brand can be so much more - bring in Verstappen and suddenly they become one of the most relevant teams in F1 again. Commercial interest would skyrocket.

It really is a no-brainer and a decision for their brand's sake that McLaren have no choice but to make, yet it's one that currently won't fit right with them. For now, the McLaren brand will avoid any risk, controversy and will continue along contently to play happy families.

It's the wrong move.

F1 TRANSFER TALK: Sainz wants Red Bull, Perez to Williams and Alonso contract claims

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

F1 Max Verstappen McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri