'Better than ever' Verstappen doesn't scare McLaren boss into action
McLaren CEO Zak Brown despite acknowledging Max Verstappen "seems better than ever" the papaya team will not choose a number one driver in thier bid to clinch the Drivers' crown.
According to Brown the detonating factor behind Red Bull Racing's revival is the introduction of Laurent Mekies as team principal in replacement of Christian Horner.
Brown told Dutch newspaper DeTelegraaf: "The arrival of the new team boss Laurent Mekies has stirred up a lot. At least, that's how it seems when I look at it from a distance.
"Red Bull seemed to be completely falling apart, but there seems to be peace again. That's less news for us," said the American.
Brown then admitted that his prediction that Verstappen would make the switch from Red Bull to Mercedes was ultimately wrong, and that the Red Bull Racing driver seemed 'better than ever' at the recently revived Austrian team.
He added: "I thought for a long time that Max would go to Mercedes after this season, but that's not going to happen.
"In fact, lately it's not about Verstappen's future at all. That also says something about his and Red Bull's performance and how good he feels. Max seems to be better than ever at the moment. So of course we take him very seriously in the title fight. It would be very stupid not to do that."
Despite the pressure that Verstappen has been able to pile up on both McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the championship standings, Brown refuses to pick one of their drivers to put all of the team's support behind.
"We have always said that we will let them race with each other, as long as it is fair and respectful to each other. You don't stop incidents in this sport, but it's about how you solve them together.
"We don't suddenly choose one of the two drivers. We may only do that when it is mathematically no longer possible for one person to become champion," he concluded.
The championship fight has now reduced to a 40 points gap between Standings' leader Piastri and third placed man Verstappen.
Norris, Piastri and Hamilton weigh in on title fight
Norris, although he too has closed down the points gap to teammate Piastri, is very much aware of Verstappen's charge something he feels McLaren are powerless about.
Piastri, for his part, doesn't believe that track suitability for either McLaren or Red Bull will decide the title fight, instead he argues it'll be all about maximising car performance.
Lewis Hamilton gave both drivers advice on how to fight Verstappen for the title. In short: be 'cut-throat'. Lest they risk the Red Bull Racing driver running away with the Drivers' crown.
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