Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’ crash in Austria kickstarted a rivalry between Red Bull and McLaren, whose bosses have been at a war of words. McLaren in particular has been very vocal about Verstappen not being penalized severely enough and insists that the Dutchman was solely at fault. Keeping this in mind, Zak Brown, CEO of the Woking-based outfit lashes out at Christian Horner for feeding Verstappen with incorrect information.
Norris had to retire following the crash in Spielberg, but Verstappen managed to hobble to a P5 finish. On the team radio, Horner said, “Nevermind Max, Lando didn’t behave correctly.”
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Amazing scenes!
Norris and Verstappen make contact at Turn 3
Both drivers have punctures after clashing… and George Russell has taken the lead!!! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/0GtTwPXd6N
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
Horner’s comments, however, come in contrast to how the stewards felt. Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty, which shows that the officials deemed the 26-year-old guilty. Now, Brown reminds Horner of the same ahead of the British GP this weekend.
“I think it’s inappropriate to be feeding your driver information that I think the rest of the world saw differently, including the stewards,” said Brown as per Pit Debrief. “It’s disappointing, it’s not very sporting, but it’s kinda what we’ve come to expect out of his behaviors.”
By saying the same, Brown takes a dig at Horner’s past, including his verbal scraps with Toto Wolff during Red Bull’s battles with Mercedes in 2021.
Zak Brown’s war with Christian Horner
Brown has been very vocal against Horner in the past, which started with Red Bull’s cost-cap breach in 2022. He was one of the team bosses to openly demand a harsher punishment for the Milton-Keynes-based team than what the FIA deemed necessary.
Then, ahead of the start of this campaign, when Horner was under investigation by Red Bull, Brown demanded more transparency from the Austrian stable.
Now, that McLaren is competing for wins at the front with Red Bull, the rivalry between them is sure to intensify. More scraps between Verstappen and Norris would pave the way for an exciting title fight for the rest of 2024. Off the track meanwhile, Horner is likely to respond with jabs of his own.
