Zak Brown Has An Interesting Take On Max Verstappen

Despite having not won every single Formula 1 Grand Prix this year, with Lando Norris winning F1’s most recent race at Miami and previously, Carlos Sainz triumphing in Australia, Max Verstappen remains the sport’s undisputed leader.

Not only is Max Verstappen the race leader on more occasions than what his close rivals would like, he has been the first on a grid of twenty to cross the checkered flag for the better part this season. While Ferrari and McLaren have gathered a win apiece, all the rest of the races, which include- the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Chinese Grand Prix and the Japanese Grand Prix have fallen to Verstappen.

Where it stands at the moment, Max Verstappen is the clear leader on the 2024 Drivers’ Standings, with no fewer than 136 points to his name. In so doing, the famous Red Bull driver has a 33-point lead over the driver of that second Red Bull: Sergio Perez. Leclerc, within a shooting distance of 100 Formula 1 points this season fares third on the rankings.

Having said that, McLaren Racing’s CEO, Zak Brown has come up with a rather interesting view of Max Verstappen’s current dominance. The man who always appears confident and has made a name for himself in speaking the truth and rather boldly, alluded to the fact that Verstappen’s dominance can be found with certain chinks in the armour.

As a matter of fact, Zak Brown wasn’t shy in any way about stating the fact that had the famed Dutchman been contesting with any other team but Red Bull, he may not have even won the title.

The following were the American boss’s views when it came to the famed Dutch driver born in Belgium:

“I don’t think without a star driver, you’re gonna win, so you need both. First, it does start with the car – people ask me all the time: ‘is it car or driver?’ And it’s like: ‘well, it’s both’.

“I think the way I characterise it is, I think there are six, seven drivers on the grid that will be world champions in the Red Bull. As great as Max [Verstappen] is, and he’s one of the best ever. I don’t think Max wins the world championship today in any other car, other than the Red Bull.”

That being said, maybe these views appear a touch too bold or even brash, but what cannot be discounted is the fact that, at least, two drivers on the current grid have proven that Max Verstappen is beatable.

While surely, Sergio Perez, despite being second in the current rankings, has failed to beat Max while driving the same car, it isn’t that others have been found wanting in their efforts to do the same. Last year, by winning at Singapore, Carlos Sainz turned around a corner and ended Red Bull’s consistent fifteen race winning streak.

This year, we have already seen, Sainz and Norris standing in the way of Verstappen and the checkered flag. The big question, however, is still whether Max can be stopped again and maybe from even clinching what could be a fourth driver’s crown?