F1 LIVE | Hamilton on Horner rumours, Verstappen on McLaren bias
Lewis Hamilton feels all the talk surrounding Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur is distracting, and McLaren held Lando Norris accountable for the incident with Oscar Piastri in Singapore.
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Hamilton feels the rumours around Vasseur are a distraction
Ferrari has endured a very difficult campaign throughout 2025 and is yet to score a Grand Prix victory.
The Italian team did win the Sprint in China with Hamilton, but Ferrari have lagged behind the pacesetters, McLaren, at the majority of weekends.
Hamilton explained that he doesn't know where the rumours originated from, ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
He said: "I don’t know where the rumours have come from, so I can’t really shed much light on that. But it’s a little bit distracting for us as a team.
“The team have made it clear where they stand in terms of re-signing Fred. Fred, I, and the whole team are working really hard on the future of the team, so these things naturally aren’t helpful.”
The British driver was quizzed about whether there is any truth to the rumours of Christian Horner joining Ferrari — and whether he thinks that would be a good idea — commented: “I don’t, and I’m not going to entertain rumours.”
Verstappen jokes after question on McLaren's bias
Verstappen has had an upturn in form across the last three races, winning in Italy and Azerbaijan. The four-time world champion also took a second place finish in Singapore last time out.
The Dutchman is 63 points behind the championship leader, Piastri, with six rounds to go. Despite the deficit, Verstappen feels he can clinch a fifth world title this year for Red Bull.
Verstappen joked in Austin after a question about whether McLaren favors Norris over the Australian: "Absolutely!
He continued: "I honestly don't know. I don't care, also, because it has nothing to do with me, what they decide within the team, how they operate as a team, also.
"They do whatever they think is right. And they're doing a very good job at it, of course, being this quick and what they have done over the last few years."
Piastri sure there are no favourites at McLaren
Piastri leads the world championship standings by 22 points over his title rival Norris as the season gets towards the closing stages.
The McLaren pair made contact last time out in Singapore, and the team held Norris accountable for the incident at Turn 3, Norris explained at COTA.
Piastri is happy that both he and Norris have equal status within the team as they battle for their first world championship.
He told GPblog: "I'm very happy with that. We analysed the incident, and there has been responsibility placed on Lando ultimately in that collision. But I'm very happy that there's no favouritism or bias."
The Australian added that he shouldn't take priority within McLaren over teammate Norris this year.
He added: "I think every driver wants a fair chance to try and win a Championship. I think for me, it's more than fair to let us both keep fighting for that. No, I don't think that's the approach we should take."
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