McLaren boss Zak Brown delivered a sharp critique of Red Bull’s top brass and their management of last weekend’s dramatic clash in Austria between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Despite McLaren holding third place in the Constructors’ championship, the two teams remain central figures in the intense battle for the title.
The collision between Verstappen and Norris, which occurred while they were competing for the lead, has exacerbated tensions, spilling their rivalry off the track and into the broader conversation about race management and fairness in Formula 1.
Speaking at the British Grand Prix on Friday, Brown acknowledged the inevitability of young drivers racing hard, but the American also reignited the age-old debate about the consistency of stewarding decisions.
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“I think it was a matter of time until we saw the two of them going head-to-head,” Brown said.
“Obviously, an unfortunate outcome at what was a very small touch. But I think as we reflect on the weekend, I think we need – and I think this is something that the FIA agrees with – we need to invest more in our stewarding to have greater consistency and enforcement of the regulations.
“I think having part-time Stewards, it’s a very difficult job, it’s quite complex, and so to kind of do it on a part-time basis for the level Formula 1 is at, I think, is difficult.
“Because Max and Lando were just duking it out as you’d expect them to do, and until someone tells Max, ‘hey, that’s against the regulations’, he’s not going to know any different.
“And so I think there were missed opportunities for the Stewards to make note.”
Another point of contention raised by Brown was the in-race attitude of those sitting on the Red Bull pitwall – namely team boss Christian Horner and Verstappen race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase – who, over the radio in the heat of the moment, systematically pointed the finger at Norris and absolved Verstappen of any wrongdoing, therefore encouraging the Dutchman’s aggressive driving.
“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,” he declared.
“We all have a responsibility on pit wall to tell our drivers the do’s and don’ts and what’s going on in the race.
“And so I think 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 – and I just don’t think that’s how we need to go racing, and we need to guide our drivers on what’s right or wrong.
“I think had it been addressed earlier maybe that incident wouldn’t have taken place. So racing incident that I think could have been avoided if the pit wall and the Stewards had maybe been more on top of what the regulations say you can and can’t do.”
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