Max Verstappen F1 News: Red Bull rival boss claims team ‘SCARED’ of champion

Max Verstappen in Canada — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Red Bull rival boss claims team ‘SCARED’ of Verstappen

Red Bull's rivals imply there are internal issues within the team

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 18 July 2024 18:57

A Formula 1 team boss has claimed that Red Bull are scared of star driver Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman has enjoyed a period of dominance with the team, claiming three back-to-back world titles, and breaking numerous records.

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However, Red Bull have started to be challenged consistently during grand prix weekends, and six different drivers have taken race victories already this season.

Verstappen’s most frequent competitor is McLaren’s Lando Norris, with their rivalry culminating in an on-track collision at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen has won three world titles with Red Bull

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris crashed in Austria

Are Red Bull afraid of Max Verstappen?

As the pair battled for the lead, they crashed into each other, with Verstappen deemed at fault as the stewards awarded him a 10-second time penalty.

Despite the FIA’s decision, the Dutchman refused to apologise, and Horner blamed Norris for the incident over team radio, stating he did not ‘behave correctly’.

Since Austria, these comments have left McLaren CEO Zak Brown incensed, and McLaren team Andrea Stella has already complained to the media about how the incident in Austria was handled by Red Bull.

In previous years, Brown has criticised the Milton Keynes outfit, accusing Red Bull of cheating when they breached the cost cap in 2022.

Now, Brown has even gone so far as to accuse the team of being afraid of Verstappen in a recent interview where he discussed the collision.

Zak Brown claims Red Bull are 'scared' of Max Verstappen

“It seems to be that Red Bull are scared of Max,” Brown said to The Independent.

“We’re very honest with our drivers. If nobody tells him that what he did wasn’t within the regulations, why should he think otherwise?

“But to have Christian come on the radio and actually squarely point the problem at Lando – who are you kidding?

“Everyone has seen it. The regulations are very clear – you’ve got to leave a car’s width. He didn’t. Why did he have to say anything? It just felt wholly inappropriate.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Formula 1 Lando Norris Austrian Grand Prix