McLaren CEO Zak Brown was impressed by Max Verstappen‘s opening lap at Imola. The Dutchman overtook his own driver, Oscar Piastri, with a daring overtaking maneuver. Despite McLaren’s chance of victory evaporating due to the world champion’s action, Brown is complimentary towards Verstappen. “We just couldn’t beat him,” concludes the American.
The entire audience present at Imola was able to savor Max Verstappen’s brilliant overtaking move on Oscar Piastri in the first meters of the race. McLaren CEO Zak Brown was also one of the spectators of the daring maneuver. The action resulted in McLaren ultimately losing the race, so you wouldn’t expect Brown to have many kind words for the race winner. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“It was a great move,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown shows sportsmanship towards Viaplay. “We just couldn’t beat Red Bull, they were very fast today. It’s still a very long season and this shows that it’s far from over.” Verstappen was almost twenty seconds ahead of nearest pursuer Lando Norris before the second safety car of the afternoon. “He was faster than us throughout the race. We were running more or less the same lap times, but Max controlled it very well. I don’t think we could really do anything against him.”
‘Let them race’
After the race restarted in the final stages, Max Verstappen took off again, leaving the McLaren drivers to battle it out amongst themselves. Lando Norris came out on top, finishing in second place. McLaren decided not to issue team orders, thus giving both drivers equal opportunities. “Let them race, that was the decision from the pit wall,” Brown still stands by the decision after the race. “It was a good move that Lando ultimately made, but again: we still have a long way to go.”
