Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Zak Brown says of course he called Max Verstappen’s management team to find out where he stood with Red Bull, after all, it is his job to know if there could be “dominoes” in the driver market.
Just days after announcing that Oscar Piastri had signed a multi-year contract extension with McLaren, Brown revealed he had spoken with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen as McLaren “explored the market”.
Zak Brown reveals all on the Max Verstappen approach
The report stated that the call was ‘some time ago’ and that it was ‘one call only’.
That, though, didn’t stop some pundits from suggesting it was a sign that Brown didn’t trust his driver line-up of Lando Norris and Piastri.
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers claimed: “The great thing is that Brown knows that he doesn’t have the best drivers in the car. That’s why Brown made that phone call…
“Brown of course has to tell the outside world that he has the best drivers in the car, but he still asked what the options were with Verstappen.”
The McLaren CEO says of course he did, that’s his job.
We have to remember that at that time I was also negotiating a new contract with my own driver [Piastri].
“I want to be able to estimate whether a possible stone may fall, which can cause a domino effect. Because that could rekindle interest in my driver. That’s the reason I inquired.”
I’m a happy camper,” Brown added.
Verstappen corroborated the initial report, confirming that Brown hadn’t reached out to him personally, but rather his manager.
“Yes, but I think that didn’t last long,” he told Viaplay. “When he knew how much he would have to pay, it was over immediately.”
Pressed on how much was ‘much’, Verstappen chuckled: “A lot!”
Asked about the Dutchman’s quip, Brown replied: “Let me put it this way, during that phone call I got the information I needed…”
