McLaren CEO Zak Brown has continued his scathing criticism towards Red Bull as he’s claimed its rival has adopted a “win at all costs” approach to Formula 1 racing.
The tension between the two teams has ramped up since Lando Norris and Max Verstappen clashed when battling over the race lead with seven laps to go in Austria.
But although the drivers have buried the hatchet and have now moved on, Brown slammed Red Bull’s reaction to denying the notion that Verstappen was accountable.
Expanding more on his remonstrations regarding Red Bull’s conduct, Brown has suggested that Red Bull is prepared to overstep boundaries in its ambition to triumph.
“We’re prepared to go toe to toe. Nasty is not how McLaren goes racing,” Brown stressed. “But I think you can go toe to toe but you don’t have to be nasty about it.
“They seem to, at times, have a win-at-all-costs mentality. That’s not how we go racing. But we think you can go toe to toe and take the fight in our own way.”
McLaren boss Andrea Stella was enraged post-race and argued Verstappen’s uncompromising approach emanated from similar previous incidents being unpunished.
The Italian has concurred with Brown and expressed that he would ensure Norris or Oscar Piastri would be spoken to should either utilise unsportsmanlike behaviour.
“We want to make sure that we race within the regulations and in a respectful way,” he said.
“It’s always tough when you are on track, but I think it’s pretty clear what you are supposed to do.
“So, for us as a team, we want to make sure that this is applied by our drivers and, if we see that our drivers go outside this range – which is the correct range to be within – then we will definitely help our drivers understand that that was not right rather than back them up at all costs.”
Stella reiterated his words in Austria that Verstappen does not need to resort to such aggressive tactics on the track despite the growing threat from Red Bull’s rivals
“I said we have so much respect for Red Bull, so much respect for Max, they don’t need to do that,” he added.
“That was my comment, my comment still stands. After that, I focus on how we go racing. I would like to think that we just want to get what we deserve.”
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