Brown appreciates banter from Verstappen: 'Our relationship is good'

"Max has a good sense of humour. A joke like that that's part of it, isn't it? It's just a shame that people sometimes misjudge that. I said he has now beaten my Senna-guy, and then I read back somewhere that I compared Lando Norris to Ayrton Senna. But I was just talking about Senna because Max has now become world champion more often," Brown explained the context behind the viral joke to De Telegraaf.

Brown's comical response to Verstappen:

Earlier this season and during the weekend of the British Grand Prix, Verstappen said, 'Who is Zak Brown?' in response to a question he was asked about the American. Brown had made statements about Red Bull, and Verstappen simply answered by asking who he was. In response, Brown sent Verstappen an app after that statement to ironically introduce himself.

"Later in the season, we met in Monza. I shook his hand and said he now had a face to go with it. Nowadays, so much chaos is created on social media. I took no offence at what he said in Las Vegas. Are you kidding! I'm glad our relationship is good. Max is a smart guy, and I think he also knows how the game is played. That it's often not towards him, but more towards Red Bull," Brown concluded.

McLaren and Red Bull haven't had the best relationship this season. Multiple jibes and mind games have been sent back and forth by those in charge about the other. Red Bull are now out of the constructor's battle and will finish the season in third place. McLaren leads Ferrari by 21 points and will be looking to finally sweep up the title at the final race weekend of the season in Abu Dhabi. 

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon.