It’s totally likely that Max was messing around here because he’s funny like that… But he’s also a shrewd competitor, and getting into the head of the (to this point) more unflappable of the two McLaren drivers who are ahead of you in the WDC by joking about a situation that has clearly rattled him would be exactly the type of clever off-track psych-out that I’d expect from somebody performing at the top of their game.

Could also just be joking, though.