McLaren CEO Zak Brown has expressed his enjoyment of the title fight between his own McLaren drivers and Max Verstappen. Ahead of the decisive race in Abu Dhabi, the American even praises the ‘fantastic’ Dutch world champion. ‘As a team, we dreamed of competing against such an impressive driver as Max,’ says Brown.
Zak Brown had previously confirmed in Abu Dhabi that he would not rule out team orders for McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. “If we start the race and it becomes quite clear that one driver has a chance and the other does not, then we will do everything we can to win the drivers’ championship,” the American CEO told Sky Sports. The British team was particularly accused of favoring the Brit over the Australian after earlier team orders in Monza – when Piastri was instructed to make way for Norris – but according to Brown, that’s all ‘nonsense’.
“The only thing that matters to us is how the team, including the drivers, works together,” the American explains in Abu Dhabi. Therefore, Brown and the rest of the McLaren team also distance themselves from such reports. “I have seen some uninformed comments about it. People are entitled to their opinion, we can’t correct everyone. But you certainly see a lot of nonsense about it.” According to Brown, his team also continues to adhere to the much-discussed ‘papaya rules’: “We continue to give our two drivers equal opportunities to win the championship.”
The biggest threat to McLaren’s dream of winning the drivers’ championship this year is still Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is only twelve points behind championship leader Norris. However, the British team is certainly not afraid of Verstappen. “Max is a fantastic driver, a four-time world champion,” praises Brown. “It’s great to race against him and Red Bull. This is even what we dreamed of, to fight against such an impressive team and such a great driver as Max.”
Fair Racing
Therefore, McLaren plans to keep it clean on the track throughout the race. “Of course, we can do something with the strategy, but I like everyone on the grid,” Brown continues. “So we will race hard, but we will keep it clean. It will be a healthy fight to the end.” Laurent Mekies – team boss of Red Bull – agrees with the American: “It’s refreshing that we don’t even have to discuss whether or not we’re going to race cleanly. Of course, we race cleanly. It’s going to be a good fight.”
