The chaos following the Austrian GP crash between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris was short-lived because the two sorted things out within a week. But McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown has been consistently bringing up the subject of Verstappen allegedly moving under braking in Spielberg. Verstappen, however, isn’t fazed and had a handy insult ready for Brown in Silverstone.
Speaking to GP Blog after Qualifying, Verstappen was forced to respond to Brown’s attacks against him and Red Bull. When asked if he agreed with Brown’s suggestion to move with the investigation to a system with full-time stewards, Verstappen laughed and said, “Who is Zak Brown?” The three-time World Champion then walked away.
Brown is upset because he feels that Verstappen made a very aggressive defensive move on Norris in Austria which ended the latter’s race. Both drivers suffered a puncture and Verstappen even got a ten-second penalty.
The Dutch driver was still able to finish P5 and extended his lead at the top of the Championship by 11 points. This is why Brown feels he wasn’t punished severely enough.
Max Verstappen:
️ “Who is Zak Brown?” pic.twitter.com/tf6rtTPbP4
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) July 6, 2024
While Brown understands that drivers need to be more careful on the tracks, he also calls for more consistent stewarding. He puts pressure on them and asks for more consistent policing. This, however, wasn’t the only thing that made Brown furious in the aftermath of the Spielberg incident.
Zak Brown not happy with Red Bull encouraging Max Verstappen’s approach
After the Austrian GP, Christian Horner took to the team radio to tell Verstappen that Norris didn’t behave correctly. And unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down well with Brown.
“Also disappointed that at such a great team like Red Bull that the leadership almost encourages it because you listen on the radio and what was said,” said Brown.
Zak Brown takes a shot at Red Bull and says they lack respect
“We need to have respect for regulations and we’ve seen there be lack of respect, whether it’s financial regulations or you know sporting, on-track issues with fathers and things of that nature.”… pic.twitter.com/PcMD2jaKaH
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 5, 2024
Publicly, Red Bull maintains its stance that Verstappen is innocent. Horner even argued that the 10-second penalty on his driver was unnecessary.
Norris too, has McLaren’s full support but will be looking to put the incident behind him. He and Verstappen have made amends and are in each others’ good books once again. Starting P3 and P4 in Silverstone on Sunday respectively, Norris and Verstappen will be hoping to avoid similar incidents.
