After a dramatic Mexico City Grand Prix that saw Lando Norris take the Formula 1 championship lead from Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen clawed back valuable points, Johnny Herbert warned McLaren to be wary of an ambush.
Asked if Verstappen was out of contention as he is 36 points adrift of P1, with four GP weekends remaining, Herbert said: “No, you can't rule Max out and I think you'd be a fool to rule him out. I'm sure Norris and Piastri and McLaren haven't ruled him out.
"You always know that there is a chance that he will be the guy that will beat you. Look what he did after the summer break, he went on that incredible run, and the points difference has come down considerably. People were thinking well he was out of it and had no chance.
"You can never rule him out. You can never rule out Red Bull. They do always seem to be able to bounce back when you least expect it. With Max, there is always that knowledge he is able to just dig that little bit deeper and spring a surprise," ventured Herbert.
Verstappen’s podium in Mexico underlined Red Bull’s recovery, following a string of inconsistent performances earlier in the season. Herbert insists that, as the title fight tightens, Verstappen’s mental toughness could again become decisive.
Who will win the mental war?
Turning to the McLaren drivers, Herbert believes Piastri’s recent slump is as much psychological as it is mechanical.
He said: “Piastri is frustrated, which is understandable. Has he got the car to be able to deliver those race wins again? Absolutely. Is his confidence a bit low? It's just the little pieces are not quite where they need to be. You've just got to slot those pieces into the right areas.
“What he's obviously going to have to deal with is how it's been going on the other side of the garage, seeing how quick and at one Lando seems to be. That's that powerful mental game that starts to come into play. The confidence is when you're driving, it's probably a very, very small ingredient of it.
"It's the mental side of it where you've got to be able to overcome what you're seeing in the garage next door. And then you've got to be able to say, ‘I've got to up my game.’ That is where Lando is probably stronger.
"The worry wasn't Lando going into Mexico. It was Max. So again, it's twisted again. He is having a double mental struggle because it's Max and it's Lando. Max has closed the gap on Oscar," Herbert pointed out.
He believes Piastri still has time to turn things around; adding: “Hopefully he uses some of what Lando's learnt from the little changes that have come into play. So, it's only going to be a mental game. I don't see him suddenly collapsing mentally because it doesn't work like that.
"It's very easy for a top sportsman and it can happen very quickly where a switch is flicked, and everything comes alive again. But if the track suits you, you're always going to have a much easier weekend.
"That’s still going to be a very important part of what happens over the next four races," the former F1 driver maintained.
McLaren to blame for favouritism conspiracies
Papaya Rules if they exist in reality, simply don't work, and indeed seem to serve the team badly as the pressure ramps up, after deluding themselves that Verstappen was finished as a threat. So, apart from their own feud, they have the reigning F1 World Champion sniffing a chance.
Herbert also addressed the growing perception that McLaren have built a narrative favouring Norris and said: “To be honest, McLaren have only created that problem themselves. Even Toto Wolff had mentioned that Papaya rules will at some stage bite them in the backside.
"There was a point where from a championship point of view, they've had to make a choice. There should never ever be a choice coming from a team when it's an F1 championship.
"It's just down to the drivers. They’ve only created the narrative that they favoured Lando because of the way that it has gone. But it didn't happen in Hungary.
"It's not one way. It’s both ways. It's just this particular season it probably has been a little bit more towards Lando just because the way things have gone.
"They felt bad with the engine failure in Holland for example, and that's only why they did what they did in Monza, because they made a mistake in the pits. But that's racing.
"The engine failure was awful but those are things that happen. They’ve only created it themselves, so they are the ones who have to sort it out. The easiest way of sorting out is not get involved," Herbert argued.
Piastri’s mindset remains positive
Despite recent pressure, Herbert does not believe Piastri has lost belief; he commented: “He won’t be thinking Norris is better, at all.
"He knows he can beat him, he knows he had a run of where he was top dog and the force in the team and the one who was delivering. Now he is not. But that is the way it goes sometimes. He will always have that positivity.”
With four rounds remaining, Herbert predicts an intense showdown in São Paulo; he went on: “Max does like Brazil. George has been very good there as well. Lando hasn't done too bad either.
"So, actually all three of them are probably in a very good place going into that weekend. And then you've got to throw in Oscar to that mix as well. It's going to be mighty tight.
"This is where mental strength is really going into play. There's going to be someone who's going to come out of the weekend on a high and the other two are going to come out in a little bit of a low because each of them might have expected to be on top of that podium.
"The mental battle is going to be very interesting to see what happens in Brazil because we have three drivers who are in a very comfortable place when they're on that tarmac inat Interlagos.”
With the championship entering its final stretch, Herbert’s view aligns with the paddock mood after Mexico: Verstappen is not finished yet, Norris and Piastri must manage their internal rivalry, and Brazil could mark the psychological turning point of the 2025 title fight.
With four Grand Prix weekends remaining, including Sprint Races in Brazil and Qatar, the score is:
Full 2025 F1 World hampionship Points Standings Here>>>
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