McLaren send cheeky request to Red Bull in F1 title decider

McLaren CEO Zak Brown couldn’t resist one last cheeky request from Red Bull as the F1 title race arrived at a thrilling conclusion.

Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren confirmed that neither Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri would be speaking to the media ahead of the title showdown, with Brown instead representing his drivers in the paddock.

The 54-year-old accompanied Sky Sports F1’s coverage of all three practice sessions in Abu Dhabi, alongside McLaren’s title rival and Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.

It was here, following the conclusion of FP3 on Saturday, that the pair signed off for the year to viewers, but Brown could not resist one last cheeky comment before qualifying and the race.

“It’s been an awesome year, we’re looking forward to Sunday, and we just wanted to ask Laurent what tyres he might start on tomorrow,” Brown said.

Equally committed to keeping up a friendly, yet competitive spirit, Mekies responded: “It’s been a great fight and it’s great for the fans, so super happy to be in it, both teams have been doing an amazing job and as for the tyres, we’ll take the ultra softs that Pirelli have made just for us this weekend.”

Brown then added: “Strange, that’s the same tyre we’re going to start on, looks like it might be a good race!”

Who will win: Red Bull or McLaren?

The pair continued to exchange niceties, with Brown saying: “Looking forward to it, it’s going to be a great race, excited for the fans,” while Mekies finished off the chat with: “Indeed, great for the fans, and we’ll enjoy it as well on this side.”

Max Verstappen doesn’t need his team principal to fight a war of words in the media for him, with the four-time world champion doing a perfectly good job of unsettling McLaren during the closing stages of the season.

The Dutchman’s nonchalance, seemingly not caring whether he wins the title or not, has made Verstappen a fearsome competitor that has allowed him to close down the gap to Norris by 12 points heading into the Abu Dhabi thriller.

On top of his on track exploits, Verstappen himself has attempted to unnerve his competitors in the press and claimed ahead of Qatar that he would have won the title already if he had been racing with McLaren.

Despite Verstappen’s best efforts, Norris remains calm and collected as the overwhelming favourite heading into Sunday’s grand prix, where he only has to finish on the podium to be named the 2025 F1 world drivers’ champion.

READ MORE: 'Cocky' Lando Norris given dressing down

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