Zak Brown: Red Bull ‘almost encouraging’ Max Verstappen’s ‘dangerous’ driving

Zak Brown has raised the stakes ahead of this weekend’s eagerly-anticipated British Grand Prix, calling on the FIA to “enforce the regulations” properly if they want to avoid a repeat of the Lando Norris-Max Verstappen crash from Austria last weekend.

McLaren’s American chief executive also hit out at rivals Red Bull, accusing them of a “lack of respect for the regulations” and adding he was “disappointed” that Red Bull’s leadership “almost encouraged” Verstappen’s driving in Spielberg.

Norris and Verstappen are expected to be extremely well-matched once again this weekend – Norris topped both practice sessions on Friday, albeit Verstappen never got a clean lap in – raising the possibility they could go wheel-to-wheel again.

The tension is palpable after last Sunday’s race in Spielberg, in which the two collided while battling for the lead.

Norris, who was forced to retire with a puncture and now trails Verstappen by 81 points in the championship, was initially furious. The Briton, 24, described Verstappen’s driving as “reckless, stupid and desperate”, and admitted it could affect their relationship going forwards.

Norris sought to play down those comments this week, saying he had “overreacted” in the moment and describing the incident itself as “pathetic”.

But Brown has not backed down, calling on the FIA to show more consistency in their application of the rules, and Red Bull to show better leadership.

“Until someone tells Max that’s against the regulations, he’s not going to know any different,” Brown said. “I’m also disappointed that a great team like Red Bull…that the leadership almost encourages it. You listen on the radio as to what was said. We all have a responsibility on the pitwall to tell our drivers the dos and don’ts in the races so I think we need to have respect for the regulations.

“We’ve seen a lack of respect [from Red Bull]... whether it’s financial regulations, or sporting, or on-track issues with fathers and things of that nature. I just don’t think that’s how we need to go racing and we need to guide our drivers on what is right or wrong. Had it been addressed earlier then maybe that incident wouldn’t have taken place.”

Asked whether he would speak to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner about his concerns, Brown added: “That’s the FIA’s role. I don’t really have any interest in speaking with Christian.”

Brown, who denied that Norris was “too nice” to be a winner, also called on the FIA to employ full-time stewards.

“I think given the level F1 is at, how difficult the job is, hats off to the stewards who are here every weekend,” he said. “It’s not to be disrespectful of them. But I think as we reflect on [Austria], and this is something the FIA agrees with, we need to invest more in our stewarding to have greater consistency and enforcement of the regulations. Doing it on a part-time basis for the level Formula One is at is difficult because Max and Lando were just duking it out, as you’d expect them to do.”

Is Lando Norris ‘too nice’?

Zak Brown’s decision to double down on McLaren’s stance post-race in Austria last weekend – basically accusing the FIA of inconsistency and Red Bull of indulging their driver – was interesting given Lando Norris’ 180-degree turn 24hrs earlier.

Norris clearly decided, on reflection, that the most sensible course of action, for him, for his season, for his close friendship with Verstappen, was to defuse the situation. According to Verstappen, it was the Briton who reached out to him on Monday to clear the air. The incident in question was not *that* bad, after all. Not enough to fall out over.

McLaren may well have encouraged that. The idea being, let Norris focus on what is a massive race for him this weekend, in front of home fans, and repair relations with his friend, and let Brown continue to give both barrels to Red Bull (an opportunity the American never passes up… Brown could not resist a jibe at Christian Horner’s expense regarding the budget cap and Horner’s relations with Jos Verstappen). In other words, good cop-bad cop.

Whether that was the right course of action is debatable. Has Norris shown strength or weakness in backing down? Would Verstappen have done the same had the situations been reversed? Or Lewis Hamilton? Or Fernando Alonso? Great champions tend to be stubborn and unyielding, trying to score psychological wins against their rivals, as well as on-track ones. There are some who feel Norris lost a psychological battle this week.

Brown denied his driver was too nice. “There’s a difference between what a driver is like when the helmet goes on and the visor goes down and what they’re like Monday through Thursday and how they communicate and carry themselves,” he argued. “I think if you look a lot of world champions are sweethearts outside of the race car, but pretty fierce when the helmet goes on.”

Time will tell. One thing is certain, with McLaren breathing down Red Bull’s necks in every sense, it is an absolutely fascinating dynamic both on and off track heading into this weekend’s grand prix.