McLaren boss Zak Brown accuses Red Bull of 'encouraging' Max Verstappen to drive outside rules, after Dutchman's clash with Lando Norris
- Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were involved in bump in Austria last week
- It forced Brit to retire and McLaren boss Zak Brown took aim at Red Bull
- He accused team of 'encouraging' Dutchman to drive outside of the rules
McLaren boss Zak Brown has accused Red Bull of 'encouraging' Max Verstappen to drive outside of the rules following the world champion's clash with Lando Norris last week.
The bump at turn three forced the Brit to retire from last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix just as he was vying for the lead with Verstappen and looked on course for only the second Grand Prix victory of his career.
Norris, charged up by the emotion of what had unfolded, said post-race in Spielberg that he would ‘lose a lot of respect’ for Verstappen if he refused to accept responsibility for the clash.
The Brit subsequently rowed back on those comments on Friday ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, insisting Verstappen has nothing to apologise for.
Brown, though, clearly remains perturbed by the episode. In particular, the American was left annoyed by Red Bull’s behaviour over the team radio, where they made it clear they felt the blame lay at Norris’ door, in the aftermath of the incident.
Zak Brown (left) accused Red Bull of encouraging Max Verstappen to drive outside the rules after his clash with Lando Norris (right) last week
Norris (right) and Verstappen (left) are friends again after their clash in Austria
‘(I was) also disappointed that such a great team like Red Bull that the leadership almost encourages it,’ said Brown.
‘You listen on the radio as to what was said - we all have a responsibility on the pitwall to tell our drivers the dos and don’ts in the races, so I think we need to have respect for the regulations.’
Asked whether he would pull Red Bull team boss Christian Horner up on the incident, Brown said: ‘That’s the FIA’s role. I don’t really have any interest in speaking with Christian.’
The McLaren boss continued his dig at Red Bull and Horner, who has found himself answering questions over a fall-out with Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, on several occasions this season. Horner was also in charge of the team when they were found guilty of breaching the sport's cost cap regulations in 2021.
‘We’ve seen there be a lack of respect whether it’s financial regulations or sporting on track issues with fathers and things of that nature,’ Brown continued.
‘I just don’t think that’s not how we need to go racing and we need to guide our drivers on what is right or wrong. Had it been addressed earlier then maybe that incident wouldn’t have taken place.’
Brown also believes the incident only strengthens the case for full-time stewards to be employed by the FIA.
Verstappen and Norris take to the track at Silverstone for the British GP this weekend
Norris (left) and Verstappen (right) made contact during lap 64 of the Austria GP
The argument against permanent stewards is that drivers could complain that certain officials clamp down on them consistently harder than other members of the grid.
‘I think as we reflect on the weekend (in Austria), and this is something the FIA agrees with, we need to invest more in our stewarding to have greater consistency and enforcement of the regulations,’ said Brown.
‘It’s a very difficult job, it’s quite complex. Doing it on a part-time basis for the level Formula One is at is difficult because Max and Lando were just juking it out as you’d expect them to do. Until someone tells Max that’s against the regulations, he’s not going to know any different.’
