Brown to Marko:

“Poking around in there is pretty inappropriate”

Zak Brown (left) was not very happy with Helmut Marko's comments.(Bild: APA/AFP/ANGELA WEISS, APA/BENJAMIN CREMEL)

McLaren Managing Director Zak Brown has sharply criticized comments made by Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko about championship rival Lando Norris and his mental state. "I think it's quite inappropriate to poke around in that and it sets us back ten or twenty years," Brown emphasized. Marko had suggested that McLaren driver Norris had "mental weaknesses" compared to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The 81-year-old Austrian had said in an interview that Verstappen would win the world championship again because the Dutchman was the best mentally and as a driver. Marko had added: "Norris has a starting weakness, plus he is not the strongest mentally. The pressure increases with every race, because in reality he has to win every time to catch up." Norris is in second place in the championship standings ahead of the US Grand Prix, 52 points behind Verstappen.

"Serious issue"
He had read the comments, said Brown, "they are disappointing, but not surprising". Norris (24) is something of an ambassador for mental health. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had also spoken about it. "I think it's a serious issue that we're trying to talk about and bring to the fore," explained the McLaren boss.

Norris had recently spoken openly about the fact that he is still very nervous before races and qualifying sessions. On Sundays, for example, he can hardly eat or drink anything because of the nerves and the pressure.

Marko is known for his controversial comments. Last year, he had to apologize after making controversial comments about Mexican Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, after linking his faltering form to Perez's ethnic origin.

"Massive consequences"?
At a press conference on Friday, Brown also commented on the issue of the height adjustment on the Red Bull car and warned of "massive consequences" if it turned out that the world champion team had violated the Formula 1 rules. Red Bull had admitted the existence of such a device on the car, but also stated that it would no longer be accessible once the cars were fully assembled and ready for use.

Brown still has questions about this. "I think there needs to be a very thorough investigation. I'm not the only one who is concerned about what we've seen and heard," explained the McLaren managing director.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he had noticed "paranoia" and added that his team was in full agreement with race stewards investigating the device. "It's on a list of open-source components, so it's been in the public domain for three years. The FIA is happy with that. I think it's just to satisfy a certain amount of paranoia in the paddock," said Horner.