McLaren CEO Zak Brown has slammed senior Red Bull personnel over their response to Max Verstappen’s clash with Lando Norris in Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Norris and Verstappen collided with seven laps to go when contesting the race lead last weekend when the Red Bull racer moved over on his rival approaching Turn 3.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella condemned Verstappen’s actions and assessed that his aggressive driving emanated from previous incidents in 2021 going unpunished.
But speaking at Silverstone, Norris retracted his post-race claim that the Dutchman’s racing was “reckless” and even questioned whether he deserved to be penalised.
However, Brown has backed Stella and thinks the FIA wasted a chance at the Red Bull Ring to clamp down on Verstappen’s uncompromising wheel-to-wheel approach.
“Yeah, so it was quite an epic battle. Exciting for the fans, exciting for everyone in Formula 1,” Brown said.
“I think it was a matter of time until we saw the two of them going head-to-head.
“Obviously, an unfortunate outcome at what was a very small touch.
He added: “Until someone tells Max, ‘hey, that’s against the regulations’, he’s not going to know any different.
“And so I think there was missed opportunities for the stewards to make note.”
Verstappen’s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, and Red Bull boss Christian Horner both came over the radio post-race to tell Verstappen that his penalty was unfair.
Brown has expressed his disappointment with Red Bull over the collective reaction, citing that their refusal to hold Verstappen accountable was a contributing factor.
“Also disappointed, you know, such a great team like Red Bull that the leadership almost encourages it because you listen on the radio and what was said,” he added.
“You know, 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 that, you know, 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.
“And 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.”
Asked whether he would hold discussions with Horner over his comments, Brown stated: “That’s the FIA’s role. I don’t really have any interest in speaking with Christian.”
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