Marko had said Norris is ‘not the strongest mentally’Max Verstappen qualifies on pole for sprint race in AustinPA MediaFri 18 Oct 2024 19.11 EDTLast modified on Sat 19 Oct 2024 09.06 EDTShareThe McLaren chief Zak Brown said the claim from Red Bull’s Helmut Marko that Lando Norris is not mentally strong enough to dethrone Max Verstappen was “inappropriate” and in “poor taste”.
Speaking before this weekend’s US Grand Prix, the Red Bull motorsport adviser Marko said Norris is “not the strongest mentally”.
Norris, 24, has opened up in the past about his mental health struggles, particularly in the formative years of his Formula One career.
Six F1 races to go: the factors that will decide if Verstappen or Norris wins titleRead more“I read Helmut’s comments, which I felt were disappointing but not surprising,” said Brown. “Lando has been an ambassador for mental health. It is a serious issue that he has brought to the forefront and to make it OK to talk about. To choose to poke at that situation is pretty inappropriate and it sets us back 10 or 20 years.
“It is all fun and games as to how some people go racing and the tactics they use but I thought that one was in pretty poor taste.”
Norris’ win at the last round in Singapore a month ago means he trails Verstappen by 52 points with 180 still to play for over the remaining six rounds. Norris has taken 26 points out of Verstappen in the last four races. There will be an additional eight points up for grabs in Austin with a sprint race on Saturday.
Verstappen pulled out an impressive lap in the closing seconds of qualifying for the sprint race to beat Mercedes’ George Russell to top spot by just 0.012 seconds. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up from third, one place ahead of Norris, with Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Norris had been handed a possible championship boost after Red Bull were ordered by the FIA to make changes to their car. Rival teams claimed Red Bull have been gaining an advantage by running a contentious device which allowed them to adjust the setup of the car between qualifying and the race – something which is not prohibited in the sport’s rules.
Red Bull have admitted the device exists but say they cannot access it when the car has been built.
“If you breach parc ferme rules that is a massive breach and there should be consequences if that has happened,” added Brown. “We are asking questions as to whether it has been used in an inappropriate manner.
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“It is up to the FIA as the regulator to get on top of it and come up with a solution that is transparent and satisfactory to all the teams because I am not alone with my concerns as to what we have seen and heard.”
Responding to Brown’s comments, the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky: “There has been a bit of moaning from one of our rivals. It is the FIA’s job to look into these things. It is on a list of open-source components that has been available for the last three years. The FIA are satisfied but [it is sealed] to satisfy a bit of paranoia elsewhere in the paddock.
“I feel sometimes it is to distract from what is going on in your own house. Sometimes you try and light a fire somewhere else. It is part of F1 and I am sure there will be other stuff that comes up between now and the final race in Abu Dhabi.”