Toto Wolff spies Max Verstappen advantage as McLaren title hunt heats up

Toto Wolff believes the "underdog" in the F1 title race has a "psychological advantage" as Max Verstappen's hunt of Oscar Piastri intensifies.

Verstappen is now just 40 points behind Piastri at the top of the standings after a maximum haul of 33 points in the Austin Sprint weekend, coupled with just 10 for the Australian. 

That has continued the trend since the Italian GP of Piastri leaking points to Verstappen and Lando Norris, with Piastri on 346, Norris 332 and Verstappen on 306, but with all the momentum after a third win in five races.

McLaren has also stopped development of its MCL39, allowing Red Bull's upgrades to allow Verstappen to reel himself back into contention - as Mercedes boss Wolff, a veteran of inter-team title fights with Red Bull and Ferrari during his tenure, believes there is nothing to lose for the Dutchman as he hunts his fifth crown.

"How this is panning out, I look at it with interest, because I’ve been in a similar situation with two drivers fighting for a championship, and the threat of another one catching," Wolff explained to media, including RacingNews365.

"It was Max, I believe, and then it was Sebastian [Vettel] in the hunt, and the underdog always has a little bit of a psychological advantage, because in the probability... the odds are definitely against Max. 

I’ve calculated [his chances] before; whether it’s 19% or 21%, it is something along those lines, but if you look at the probability, that’s very low. 

"One DNF can change everything, and I think that affects the driving also, you know, how aggressive can you actually be in going for an overtake? 

"You could see with Lando, he [passed Charles Leclerc] at the end, but it was tricky at times to decide whether you keep or put your nose in or not."