McLaren CEO Zak Brown has said his team should ignore “horror movie” character Max Verstappen as the Red Bull driver remains a serious threat in the race for the F1 title.
After starting sixth in Saturday’s Qatar Grand Prix Sprint (2pm live on Sky Sports F1), Verstappen is 24 points behind championship leader Lando Norris with two rounds remaining.
The Dutchman has turned his back on the title race after falling 104 points behind Oscar Piastri after August’s Dutch Grand Prix and will mathematically win the decisive contest in Abu Dhabi if his deficit to Norris is less than 26 points.
“He’s like that guy in a horror movie where you think he looks depressed and then suddenly you think, ‘Where did he come from?’” Brown said. Sky Sports F1.
“He’s as talented as anyone we’ve ever seen. I think we should just ignore him. We can’t control what he does.”
“Our mentality is to get to the front row, finish first and second and then not have to worry about that. But that’s easier said than done.”
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown likened Max Verstappen’s aggression to a character from a horror movie during the Qatar Grand Prix.
Brown’s comments came as Verstappen told PA that he would have already won the drivers’ championship “easily” if he had driven McLaren’s 2025 car.
“We’re not talking about a championship.” The four-time world champion spoke without hesitation.
“I mean they won the constructors’ championship so early, so yes, they can stuff themselves.”
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All of Max Verstappen’s enthusiastic radio messages on the first day of the Qatar Grand Prix
Title protagonist with multiple goals for Qatar Sprint
Verstappen will have some work to do in Saturday’s sprint as he starts sixth after losing out to teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the second time this year.
The Red Bull driver struggled to bounce throughout Friday despite making changes to his car to alleviate its tricky handling.
“With this balance, the sprints won’t be as much fun. I think it will be more about trying to survive and making some changes to qualifying,” he said.
Norris will start behind George Russell and Sprint polesitter Piastri as he failed to improve on his final flying lap after being mixed up with Williams’ Alex Albon on the out-lap and went wide at the final corner.
“It would be foolish to try not to win, but I think I will probably finish P3 because overtaking is impossible,” Norris said.
“Beating George Russell on the line is probably the best I can hope for.”
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Lando Norris finished third in the Qatar GP sprint and said he expects to finish the race in the same position.
Piastri has a big chance to reduce his 24-point deficit to Norris by at least one point on Saturday before making a bigger gain in the main Grand Prix on Sunday.
He has not beaten Norris for more than a lap since the Singapore Grand Prix in early October and has struggled in his fourth Americas race, but could have mounted a mini-fightback of his own over the past two race weekends if a sprint pole is needed.
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Oscar Piastri reviews pole-winning laps from the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint with Karun Chandhok on SkyPad.
“It was nice to be able to work together because the pace was maintained throughout the day,” Piastri said.
“We will review overnight what we can do to finish in the lead in the sprint tomorrow and prepare ourselves well for qualifying.”
Sky Sports F1 Qatar GP Schedule
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the Qatar Grand Prix.
Saturday, November 29
1pm: Qatar GP sprint build-up*
2pm: Qatar GP Sprint*
3:30 PM: Ted’s Sprint Notebook*
4:15 PM: F2 Sprint
5.15pm: Preparing for Qatar GP qualifying
6pm: Qatar GP qualifying
8 p.m.: Ted’s Qualifying Notes
Sunday, November 30
11:55 AM: F2 function
2.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP build-up
4 p.m.: Qatar Grand Prix
6pm: Checkered flag: Qatar GP reaction
7 p.m.: Ted’s Notes
*Applies to Sky Sports main event as well
Formula 1’s season-ending triple header continues from Friday with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint Weekend live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports NOW – No Commitment, Cancel Anytime
