Oct.25 (GMM) McLaren CEO Zak Brown has backtracked on his earlier prediction that Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull – admitting the Dutchman looks stronger than ever as he closes rapidly in the world championship fight.
Before the summer break, Brown had publicly speculated that Verstappen might join Mercedes, even calling his manager Raymond Vermeulen to inquire about his contract status. But as Red Bull’s revival gathers pace, the American now concedes the quadruple world champion is back to his dominant best.
“The arrival of new team principal Laurent Mekies has had a huge impact,” Brown told De Telegraaf. “At least, that’s how it seems from a distance.”
Mekies replaced Christian Horner from the Belgian Grand Prix, inheriting a team that – at the time – looked fractured. “Red Bull seemed to be falling apart completely,” Brown laughed. “But now peace seems to be back. That’s less good news for us.”
Brown admitted he had genuinely believed Verstappen was poised to defect.
“For a long time, I thought Max would go to Mercedes after this season,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen. In fact, lately there hasn’t been any discussion about Verstappen’s future at all.”
Now, as Verstappen’s momentum builds – cutting his championship deficit from 104 to just 40 points since Zandvoort – Brown says it would be foolish to underestimate him.
“Of course we take Max very seriously in the title fight,” he said. “It would be very stupid not to.”
Brown praised both Verstappen and Red Bull for turning their fortunes around. “That also says something about their performance and how good he’s feeling,” he said. “Max seems to be in better shape than ever right now.”
Verstappen, who confirmed earlier this year he will stay with Red Bull at least for 2026, is thriving again with a car tailored closely to his feedback. McLaren’s own title hopes, meanwhile, are complicated by the internal rivalry between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
After the Austin sprint, McLaren lifted internal “repercussions” for Norris, insisting both drivers would start with a clean slate.
“We’ve always said we’ll let them race each other, as long as it’s fair and respectful,” Brown explained. “You can’t stop incidents in this sport, but it’s about how you resolve them. We’re not suddenly choosing one driver over the other – unless it becomes mathematically impossible for one of them to win.”
Even so, with Verstappen closing fast and Red Bull seemingly reborn, Brown admits the title fight is entering dangerous territory.
“Give Max a car he can handle a little better, and he disappears over the horizon,” he said. “That’s exactly what Red Bull has done.”
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