Max Verstappen experienced defeat on the racetrack at the hands of Lando Norris in Miami, and he’s not letting it slide without a word towards his rival’s superior.
Verstappen has taken aim at McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown for what he perceives as Brown’s attempts to incite controversy with his remarks regarding Red Bull personnel.
Brown, the American executive, boldly claimed to have been inundated with resumes from members of the reigning champions’ staff, predicting a mass exodus from Milton Keynes following the departure of Adrian Newey.
While Red Bull managed to carry over their winning streak from 2023 into the early stages of the 2024 season, the atmosphere within the confines of Milton Keynes has been far from jubilant.
Much of the discontent has been attributed to the internal turmoil involving team principal Christian Horner, who underwent an extensive internal investigation before being cleared just ahead of the season’s kickoff.
This internal drama appears to have taken its toll on the esteemed engineer Newey, who, after nearly two decades with Red Bull, decided to announce his departure at the end of the current campaign, just prior to the Miami Grand Prix.
Brown seized the opportunity to deliver a verbal jab at the reigning champions ahead of a weekend that would ultimately witness his team clinching their first victory of the year.
“We have seen an increase in CVs coming our way from the team, and I think Adrian is the most successful designer of all time,” remarked Brown following Newey’s announcement of his departure from Red Bull.
“So in addition to the technical [quality] that he brings to the racing team, people want to work for people like Adrian and work alongside him.
“So I think they will be missing what he brings to the team from a pure technical point of view and then I think the leadership and the excitement people get from working with him will be missed.”
Verstappen was not pleased with these remarks, expressing confidence in the future of his team’s key members.
The three-time world champion remained unfazed upon hearing about Newey’s departure, stating that he advised the 65-year-old to prioritize his own interests and depart if he deemed it necessary.
“He obviously wants to stir things up,” Verstappen remarked. “For us as a team, we can’t do anything with comments like that. From his point of view, I understand it of course, because everyone is trying to attract our people and that is completely normal in the world of Formula One as well.
“But I’m not really interested in those things either. I see the headlines, but I don’t even click on them.”
