In the round-up: McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown described Max Verstappen’s driving as “outrageous” after he was penalised twice in the Mexican Grand Prix.
In brief
Brown blasts Verstappen’s “outrageous” driving
After Verstappen was given two 10-second time penalties for forcing McLaren’s Lando Norris off the track, Brown said he put other drivers in danger.
“Max is such an awesome racing driver, I just don’t think you need to drive like that,” he told Viaplay. “Just drive like the world champion that you are.
“It’s unnecessary, it puts everybody at risk and it’s not clean racing. So I thought the penalties were very appropriate. Hats off to the FIA stewards and let’s have some clean racing, hard racing the balance of the year.”
He believes Verstappen cost Norris a chance to win by spoiling his own race. “It probably cost us the race or a chance at the win,” he said. “So it’s pretty disappointing because while he ruined his own race him maybe took a win away from us.”
Mercedes experimenting with car
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team can afford to take a more experimental approach to the final races as they are virtually guaranteed to finish fourth in the constructors’ championship.“Despite the challenges in the US and Mexico, we have furthered our learning with the W15,” he said ahead of this weekend’s race. “Given our position in the championship, we have been able to test things out with little penalty.
“Whilst we are still focused on maximising our result each and every weekend, that testing and learning will be valuable in setting us up strongly for 2025. We will continue that approach this weekend in Brazil.”
Lacorte gets F3 seat
Alpine junior Nicola Lacorte will make his Formula 3 debut for DAMS next year. He scored three points in the Formula Regional European Championship last year and picked up a win in the Oceania series.
Upgrades for spectators at Le Mans
Spectators at the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours will benefit from upgraded facilities, says the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. A new grass banks will offer better views of the dramatic Porsche Curves, extra grandstands are being put up at Maison Blanche and a new spectator area is being created at Tertre Rouge.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Links
Verstappen's 'shocking' move on Norris analysed (Sky)
Martin Brundle: 'I know that Max doesn't care what anybody thinks, but it saddens me when he drives like that. He's a multiple champion, has more driving talent in his little finger than most of us ever had, but his legacy will be tainted by this sporting attitude and that's a shame.'
Is IndyCar's once-promising pathway to F1 now a road closed? (ESPN)
'A rumour made the rounds months ago regarding Palou and interest the upcoming Audi F1 team might have in his services, but the speculation failed to account for the duration of his updated Ganassi contract and how - after going through two summers of nonsense with Palou - Ganassi was never going to grant the release of his lead driver.'
Introducing the karters who are already F1 juniors (Formula Scout)
'More money equals more track time and better equipment, which lead to improved driving and improved results respectively. That ultimately makes those drivers more attractive prospects to sponsor and support since they’re getting the results that makes financial investments in their career worthwhile, and are also further along the development curve than their peers with less track time. The (children of the) rich generally get richer, and faster.'
'Turki, who hails from Tunisia and previously served as Director of Tourism Services, has played a key role in fostering partnerships with the United Nations and various NGOs, growing the FIA’s global presence.'
We always endeavour to credit original sources. Got a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport? Please send it to us via the contact form.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
New angles of THAT Verstappen-Norris clash in Mexico 🇲🇽👀 pic.twitter.com/ptYIouJCpV
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 29, 2024
…so @Carlossainz55 pays his old team a visit.#F1 #MexicanGP #RaceFans pic.twitter.com/nHtJEvBZYB
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) October 28, 2024
Not hard to imagine why Volkswagen Group may feel splashing out on a full works Formula 1 entry with Audi is not 'good optics' at a time like this.#F1 pic.twitter.com/umQXcrMQFB
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) October 29, 2024
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Frank is impressed by how Carlos Sainz Jnr has handled a difficult season since learning Ferrari were going to drop him:
For years now, Sainz is coming across as a mature, sincere and thoughtful person, who happens to be a supremely competent driver. I would be very keen on signing him.
It is a pity that circumstances will demote him further down the grid. A driver can make a huge difference in the midfield though, so he will be an asset. Hopefully that will be enough to return to the front soon.
Frank
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to L. Martins and Haseyachooli!
Newsletter
Don’t miss any of our RaceFans’ motorsport coverage! Get a daily update in your inbox – sign up for the free RaceFans email Newsletter here:
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
30th October 2024, 3:32
Brown should already know that Verstappen won’t change his driving style. What he should do is up the ante, put Piastri on softs and give him a job to complete in T1. I’m all in for a ‘whatever it takes’ championship battle.
Doh
30th October 2024, 10:21
Would be more than fair against red bull
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2024, 13:50
@markwebber As you may now from Marko, Mark Webber, Mark Webber had being making his mark marking appointments for Oscar with Marko and co for a Red Bull markup next season. So would he really be willing to take out Max? (Not that that’s what you’re implying, of course)
S
30th October 2024, 3:51
I’d suggest that he does exactly that – in the context of modern F1. All recent previous champions have gotten at least a bit dirty when it matters.
If McLaren want to win this year’s championship/s, they’ve got to start upping the aggression and playing the game the way Verstappen does. They won’t beat him by playing nice.
When they’ve got the car to dominate, they can revert to being gentlemanly if they wish.
Verstappen is the least likely person in F1 to care about their legacy.
Likewise with the above – the drivers who want success the most tend to be less concerned about how they get it and what it does to their reputations. That’s the competitive spirit.
Raid
30th October 2024, 9:29
They can’t. The whole reason Max is able to do this is because he knows if he crashes out and takes Lando with him, it’s a net positive for him – he’s effectively running down the clock. If Max and Lando were level in points, I’m willing to bet this wouldn’t be happening. Max has shown time after time that he’s willing to push anyone overtaking him off the track and potentially into an accident (I know he’s hardly the only champion to do this, but it’s never been this blatant in the 17 years I’ve been watching), so even overtaking normally is a risk that Lando can’t necessarily take.
I don’t really know what the solution is here. On his worst day, Max still has the third-fastest car (there’s the odd race where Mercedes challenge for pole, but their race pace always seems lacking), so time penalties don’t really help because he’s likely going to finish fifth regardless. A 20 second penalty is race ruining on paper, but it’s just not the case this year because the top three teams are quite a long way ahead of the people behind them. Quite frankly, why shouldn’t Max be driving as he is at the moment? It’s obviously beneficial to continue because he’s not facing real consequences, and he evidently doesn’t care about his reputation (not terribly surprising, Schumacher, Prost and Senna all had their moments but they’re still regarded as true champions). It feels like he’s gaming a system that’s toothless to deal with this level of dirty driving, and he’s not going to stop until he faces real punishment.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
30th October 2024, 12:16
If he deliberately crashes our Norris then I see him being disqualified from the championship. It has happened before and it can happen again.
I think that it won’t come to this, though, as McLaren are way too fast so I think that Norris will win it in the end.
Mr Ed
30th October 2024, 13:40
Only with two Max DNFs. Doesn’t matter how fast they are, there’re not enough points left on the table
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
30th October 2024, 6:03
Who ran that rumour? Why would Audi chose Palou? It makes zero sense.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th October 2024, 6:21
I’m still unaware who was behind those fake rumors.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th October 2024, 6:20
Exactly, & the ‘clean racing’ part is the most important, although Sainz was going to win anyway, given his race pace.
On a related matter, Brundle couldn’t be more right about his legacy being tainted by his sporting attitude.
I like the photobombings both way around.
COTD: I couldn’t agree more.
Doh
30th October 2024, 10:23
I was keen to see sainz go to redbull. But aware he may not have gotten equal treatment. Regardless I knew it was unlikely
Frank
30th October 2024, 11:39
I think he has the misfortune that Mercedes wants a driver that is better than Sainz (and they hope that is what Antonelli will become) whilst Red Bull is looking for a driver worse than Sainz.
If he can dominate Albon, he might keep himself on the radar of the top teams though. There is some potential for drivers retiring or developing an unhealthy rivalry with their team mates. He will want to be top pick if that happens.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th October 2024, 12:12
It’s strange to hear sainz is too good for red bull, he could maybe sign a sandbagging agreement? I mean, if you’re few tenths faster than supposed to you can always go slower, it’s the other way around it’s not possible.
I’m aware that’s not what sainz would want ofc, but I’m even surprised red bull is specifically looking for a slow driver after the constructor’s disaster this year.
Doh
31st October 2024, 12:58
They want to protect max and Max’s legacy with weak opponents. Plus the more they protect him the less chance he stays. At least in their mind. Does anyone really understand why they’ve kept Perez this long?
Sham (@sham)
30th October 2024, 7:00
In the same way that everyone I know now regards Schumacher as a cheat first and a genius second, Max is heading the same way. Some of his moves you can put down to hard racing that’s a little over the line – and some of them are just outrageous cheating.
He doesn’t deal with pressure well, because he was bought up believing that losing is simply unacceptable. That attitude doesn’t make him a particularly pleasant person to listen to, or to watch.
I want to see the best drivers, in the best cars, fighting it out fairly. This season is an epic, one of the best I’ve seen in decades, an all time classic, tainted by Max Verstappen and his ridiculous behaviour.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th October 2024, 7:12
Spot-on. He can race wholly cleanly & fairly only whenever he doesn’t literally have to race anyone, i.e., whenever he’s winning comfortably by a large margin, but once he starts facing a tough challenge from anyone, he eventually resorts to the same dirty tactics over & over again, which has been a recurring them & mental obsession for him more or less ever since 2016.
Mayrton
30th October 2024, 12:06
I think that has more to do with what you want to see. His incredible moves and overtakes largely outnumber the few mistakes he sometimes makes. I get that disliking him distorts a neutral look at his achievements.
Jungle
30th October 2024, 7:16
I remember when Peter Brock died Alan Jones was asked about him. His comment was something along the lines of “when you were racing hard against or along side him you knew that he was not going to do anything stupid.”
MacLeod (@macleod)
30th October 2024, 8:14
Maybe you should check on Senna about doing things against Prost which i find much worse then what Max does.
MichaelN
30th October 2024, 9:22
That’s unfortunate. It’s much more fun to accept that drivers are not angels, and still enjoy their often amazing performances.
Should we reduce Hamilton to Australia 2009 or England 2021? Or Senna to Japan 1990 and Verstappen to Brazil 2021? Of course not. That happened, its not great, but they’re more than that.
Ronald
30th October 2024, 11:48
+1
Sham (@sham)
30th October 2024, 12:07
The difference is that most were behaving the way they behaved because they ‘needed’ to. Hamilton at Silverstone needed to show the ultra aggressive Verstappen he wouldn’t back down and wouldn’t be walked over after a difficult start to the season. Senna felt wronged by Prost. Verstappen and Schumacher seem like the only 2 world champions who behave that way, just because it’s who they are. And they do it repeatedly, not in isolated cases.
It’s a shame, but their legacy will be what it will be because of the way they acted.
Ludewig
31st October 2024, 7:46
@Sham
LOL. So the truth quickly comes out. You are fine with dirty driving if it’s done by drivers that you like.
Mayrton
30th October 2024, 12:07
+1
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th October 2024, 12:14
It’s the other way around for me and I’m sure many others, since schumacher had a massive amount of fans.
Sham (@sham)
30th October 2024, 13:30
As does Max – doesn’t make their methods right, though.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
30th October 2024, 7:50
Zak Brown, please review the history of F1 world champions before asking Max Verstappen to drive like one. Your request may make him drive in a less sloppy manner, but as people on the wrong side of some of Senna’s and Schumacher’s moves will attest, it certainly doesn’t guarantee that he will drive cleanly, according to the regulations or in a manner that benefits Lando Norris.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
30th October 2024, 9:19
Dear Zak,
Please keep focusing on Max instead of improving your team’s performance to get the job done. With this approach you’ll sure end up losing both championships.
Best regards,
I think he’s not even aware that Ferrari are few points behind in the constructors that is more realistic as a target than dethroning Verstappen.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
30th October 2024, 12:20
That would be terrible if he’s not aware of ferrari’s threat, we are and we’re not even directly involved with mclaren!
Ferrari is in a position where they could realistically jump mclaren in 2 races, with 2 races remaining to the end, and losing the first proper chance in 26 years on a constructor’s championship isn’t great.
Oh, but now I think about it, looks like either way a team that doesn’t win since ages will win the constructor’s: if not mclaren after 26 years, then it should be ferrari after 16, still a long time.
Since ferrari had been very competitive in 2017, 2018, 2022, I was thinking a constructor’s championship now wouldn’t be any special, but it actually is for them too.
Ray West (@raynaud2211)
30th October 2024, 10:18
Surprising positive comments from Brown and Brundle. And it is not that hard for him to race clean. No pushing of and no dive bombs that results in going of track.
Well, I do hope to see a good battle at Brazil between the 2, but expect engine swap for Verstappen. So will be damage limitation and no battle at all.
Doh
30th October 2024, 10:25
its great to see that mercedes have furthered their learning of the w15 with 4 races to go. with three years of experimenting, theyll be an absolute force next season
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2024, 13:53
So true, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. When they’ve sussed out the W16’s slightly bewildering issues.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
30th October 2024, 10:25
Like Schumacher, or Senna?
Still, can’t wait to see what they get up to in the next round. The walls are a bit nearer at Interlagos, and a lot closer in Vegas.
Frank
30th October 2024, 11:57
AS I said before, my opinion is that you can’t bang on about improtant values in society if you are willing to admire ruthlessness as a virtue.
What baffles me the most though, is the sheer unnecessity of his aggressive racing. The points per race that Norris needs to gain on him has only gone up.
The only thing that take the title away from him are DNFs and race bans. Yet, he risks exactly that.
Ludewig
31st October 2024, 7:55
Do you really think that people are honest when they claim they don’t want ruthlessness? In practice I see that people who claim to want that, are fine with ruthlessness to those who they deem to be the enemy.
Jungle
30th October 2024, 12:07
I remember some of the best racing in the mid to late 90’s was the world super bikes. Fogarty, Slight, Corser, Haga, Gobert, Bostrom and later Edwards and Bayliss. Hard racing, nervous, twitching bikes, on the limit, rear wheel snaking/lifting under braking. These guys raced hard and fair. They weren’t trying to punt each other off the track!
M2X
31st October 2024, 12:29
He drives exactly like the greatest champions F1 has seen, just like Hamilton, Schumacher, Vettel and Senna.