Max Verstappen has given his take on McLaren's rear wing and has said that since he's not the one making the rules, he wouldn't want to comment on it. After the race in Japan, a video went viral on social media, showing the extent to which the Woking-based outfit's rear wing was flexing.
The rear-wing controversy prompted Max Verstappen's father, Jos Verstappen, to share the video on his account. Rear wing flexing is something that the FIA has tried to clamp down on, as the teams have gotten cleverer in terms of implementing solutions. After the very first race of the season, FIA had tried to clamp down on the rear wing flexing, but McLaren reportedly continues to find a way to still do it.
Max Verstappen was questioned about the flexing rear wing of the McLaren, and in response, the Dutch driver said he was also seeing what everyone else had seen.
"I don't make the rules," Verstappen said (via RacingNews365). "I'm also not the one enforcing them, so what I see, probably a lot of people see."
He did, however, feel it was on the FIA to officiate and not on him to make a comment about it.
"I know what is going on, but for me, I just like to focus on our car. Our car is the only thing that I can [control]. Everyone is always pushing the boundaries, and it is up to the FIA to decide what is allowed, but I am not disappointed [in Red Bull not delivering a similar rear-wing], as everyone is trying to do their best, and maybe, some people read the regulations maybe a bit differently."
Amid the McLaren wing controversy, the four-time F1 champion also doubled down on his claims of leading the charts if he had the MCL39.
Max Verstappen backing up his claim of dominating F1 in a McLaren
Max Verstappen took a shot at the McLaren duo as he backed his claim of being able to dominate F1 if he had the same car as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The Dutch driver had made this claim after the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix and was more than willing to back it up in Bahrain as well.
“I was not joking. You thought it was a joke? No, it’s not a joke," Verstappen said (via the aforementioned source). "We know how hard and how narrow our window is with the car. Then you get that question, what would you do in another car? Well, I give you an honest answer. But I also said in that same interview that that is not going to happen anyway so there is no need to speculate about it.”
Max Verstappen is just one point behind Lando Norris in the championship right now. The 27-year-old has continued to perform well and will be looking to gain momentum after his win last weekend.