Zak Brown heaped praise upon Max Verstappen who refuses to let either of his McLaren racers win the Formula 1 drivers’ title without putting up a fight. McLaren sealed the constructors’ championship more than two months ago having been the dominant force on the grid for much of the season, but Red Bull have found an extra level of pace in the latter stages of the campaign.
It has been enough for Verstappen to keep the pressure on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for as long as possible. It looked as though his challenge had faded, but McLaren’s double disqualification in Las Vegas last weekend opened the door once again for the Dutchman to chase a possible fifth consecutive title.
Reflecting on the situation, McLaren Racing chief executive Brown has admitted that Verstappen has re-emerged as a bona fide threat to his two drivers in these final two weeks of the year. “He’s like that guy in that horror movie, that right as you think he’s not coming back, he’s back,” the American told The Sports Agents podcast.
Though Brown added: “What an unbelievable talent he is. He never makes mistakes, he seizes every opportunity. We’ve never thought he was out. You know, when we were, I think, at a 104-point lead on Max, people were like, ‘Oh, this is a done deal’. We’ve never thought it was a done deal. And here we are.”
Norris is the obvious favourite given he has almost a full Grand Prix victory’s worth of points in hand over his two rivals. But Piastri remains in the fight despite his poor recent run, having led the championship for around six months. Remarkably, given their personal ambitions, the relationship between them has remained strong – at least in public.
Brown insists the same is true behind closed doors and feels McLaren have actually benefitted from having both their racers pushing each other hard on track. He explained: “I’d rather have two drivers fighting for the championship than one.
“Two drivers fighting for the championship gives you your best shot at the constructors’ and then having two drivers that are world champion drivers pushes the whole team along. I think there’s a lot more upside than downside.
“We’re not going to listen to the noise or take the bait of everyone trying to encourage us, because they’re a bit bummed that there’s not been any arm-wrestling matches between our drivers. They don’t hang out, but they’re very respectful and friendly. I’ve never felt once any tension in the room, which you can feel when you’ve kind of seen two people in the room. They’re totally relaxed.”