McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, underscores the substantial influence of Max Verstappen’s dominance, expressing his disappointment in Red Bull’s absence of a second driver akin to Sergio Perez’s calibre, which hampers their ability to compete at a parallel level.
Drivers and team principals have acknowledged the heightened excitement a championship battle would bring without the presence of Max Verstappen. Yet, true to form, Zak Brown of McLaren elevates this sentiment even further.
Zak Brown told ESPN: “As much as Red Bull’s killing everyone right now, it’s really Max is killing everyone right now.”
“That Max, Red Bull combination is just unbeatable at the moment and Max and the team isn’t making any mistakes.
“If they had two Sergios in the car, with all due respect, this championship would kind of be wide open,” he added. “So you’ve got something pretty special going on with Max and Red Bull.
“If you take Max out of it and take everyone who’s finished second this year and give them a win, it would be a pretty competitive, exciting championship,” he insists.
“We’ve had a second, Aston’s had a second, Ferrari’s had a second, Mercedes has had a second, Sergio’s had a second. You would have five teams that would have won a race this year.
“As soon as we all catch up to Red Bull I think that’s going to be the state of play for Formula One.”
Inquired about potential concerns over Verstappen’s dominance negatively impacting the sport during a period of reported global growth, Brown dismisses the notion, asserting that such an outcome is unlikely.
“No. I think, one, the races are uber exciting. And it’s not just about who wins, right? There’s racing throughout the field and the racing’s been awesome.
“We’ve seen in other sports, Tiger Woods win every single time out and ratings were never greater because people admire seeing an athlete at the top of the sport,” he adds.
“I wouldn’t want it to go on forever but I don’t think it’s hurting us. The depth of competition is fascinating, the races have been super exciting and they tend to cover the whole field.
He concluded: “I wouldn’t want to see it continue, for selfish reasons, but for right now it’s totally sustainable.”
