Brown snaps back at "poor taste" comments from Marko about Norris
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Zak Brown has snapped back at Helmut Marko. The McLaren CEO deemed Marko's comments about Lando Norris' mental strength as "inappropriate" but he claims he isn't surprised to hear them from Red Bull's external advisor.
In the build-up to the United States Grand Prix weekend, Marko gave his thoughts on the title battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The 81-year-old told the Austrian oe24, "He (Verstappen) is the best mentally and as a driver. In addition, Norris has weak race starts and he is also not the strongest mentally." Brown has criticised those comments in the paddock at the United States Grand Prix weekend.
Why Brown is angry at Marko
Brown didn't like the comments Marko made about his driver. "I read Helmut's comments, which I thought were disappointing, but not surprising. Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health. Toto's spoken about mental health. So I think it's a serious issue that we've tried to talk about, to bring to the forefront, make it okay to talk about," Brown said.
"To choose poking at that situation, I think is pretty inappropriate and kind of sets us back 10-20 years. It's all fun and games in how some people go racing and what tactics they use from a sporting perspective but I thought that one was in pretty poor taste," Brown added.
Earlier in the week, Verstappen weighed in on the inter-team situation between Oscar Piastri and Norris at McLaren. Verstappen suggested Piastri was too strong to play the wingman role and help Norris fight against the Dutchman. Brown was asked if these comments were getting under Norris' skin.
"No. Not at all. I saw Max's comments. I like Max a lot. We have had some good chats this year, so I think that's all part of the sport. Lando doesn't have any issue with it," Brown concluded.
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