Zak Brown has made his displeasure with Red Bull's approach to F1 very clear over the British GP weekend.
Zak Brown has made his displeasure with Red Bull ’s approach to F1 very clear over the British GP weekend – is this a mentality tactic from the McLaren Racing CEO?
“We all have a responsibility on the pit wall to tell our drivers, the do’s and don’ts and what’s going on in the race. The ever-increasing competition between McLaren and Red Bull on track has brought into focus the relationship between Horner and Brown, with the tensions between them turning from tetchy – think Brown’s criticisms of Red Bull over the budget cap breach in 2021 – to something a little more acrimonious as the Austria collision resulted in McLaren’s leading figures coming out to criticise both Verstappen and McLaren.
Rival drivers in particular pointed out how the collision should have been regarded primarily as a racing incident, with even Norris – having been quite emotional and angry in the immediate aftermath – softening his stance to say he wasn’t sure if his opponent deserved a penalty in the end, having had a good chat with Verstappen early in the week to restore their friendship.
It was a wholly unnecessary inflammation of the incident as tempers had already cooled, and it smacked of bitter victimhood, given the incident had already been dealt with and Verstappen hit with a 10-second time penalty. With competition now heating up, it’s therefore concerning to see how McLaren’s stance towards its rival isn’t starting from a baseline of neutrality and pally competitiveness – but rather from a position of exuberant negativity and resentment, as Stella and Brown refer back to historical incidents that have clearly rankled.
“At the end of the race, and I don’t know who it was on the radio – I think it was Christian, but I don’t know, I’d have to listen to it again – they had told Max he had done nothing wrong,” Brown said. What Brown is right to highlight is the consistency in stewarding and how incidents are evaluated and punished, and whether there is a need to continue apportioning blame over contact that, in isolation, is minor – even if the consequences were huge. Particularly, moving under braking needs defining – FIA steward Johnny Herbert revealed that this tactic had not been clear in Verstappen’s driving.
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