Max Verstappen could not resist a cheeky comment at Zak Brown after the McLaren boss’s previous comments that the Dutchman could only win in the “fastest car.”
Verstappen claimed his fourth successive F1 world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, making him just the sixth driver in history to win at least four titles.
McLaren CEO Brown, whose driver Lando Norris is second in the championship, insisted earlier this year that Verstappen would not win the “world championship today in any other car other than the Red Bull.”
Yet when Brown congratulated Verstappen in the Vegas paddock on Saturday night, the 27-year-old replied sharply with Brown’s comments on his mind.
The conversation was caught live on Sky Sports. Brown said “you earned it”, before Verstappen replied: “And like you said, before I could win it in the fastest car.
“This year has been a little bit different.”
McLaren currently lead the constructors’ championship with two races remaining while Red Bull are third.
Brown said, in full, earlier thos year: “I don’t think without a star driver, you’re going to win, so you need both.
“First, it does start with the car. People ask me all the time: ‘is it car or driver?’ And it’s like: ‘well, it’s both’. I think the way I characterise it is, I think there are six or seven drivers on the grid that will be world champions in the Red Bull.
“As great as Max is, and he’s one of the best ever. I don’t think Max wins the world championship today in any other car other than the Red Bull.”
Verstappen’s fourth title puts him level with Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel, with only Michael Schumacher (seven), Lewis Hamilton (seven) and Juan Manuel Fangio (five) ahead of him.
F1 next heads to Lusail this weekend for the Qatar Grand Prix and the final sprint weekend of the 2024 season.
