9 Months After Starting a Civil War With “Cheating” Allegations, Zak Brown Bows Down to Max Verstappen’s Robotic Dominance

When we realize we’re witnessing greatness—the once-in-a-lifetime kind—it’s easy to forget someone’s past crimes and instead appreciate them for what they’re doing now. It’s like Novak Djokovic winning his 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open this year. Who would want to remember or even mention that he got defaulted at the 2020 US Open for hitting a lineswoman with a ball? Practically no one. Now, we just look up to him for his greatness. And that’s exactly what McLaren CEO Zak Brown is doing with Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

The FIA introduced a $145 million budget cap for the 2021 season. After the season, the FIA reviewed every team’s spending and realized Red Bull had a minor breach in its spending. The Milton-Keynes outfit exceeded the limit by less than 5%, which according to almost every other team, gave it an unfair advantage. To address the issue and appeal to the FIA to take the necessary action, Zak Brown wrote a letter in October 2022 saying, “The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations.” For its 1.6% breach, the FIA fined Red Bull $7 million and gave it a 10% reduction in its aerodynamic testing allowance for 12 months. Regardless, the McLaren CEO was firm on his stance, triggering a civil war-like atmosphere with Red Bull.

Despite the fine and the reduced testing time, Red Bull built a car for this season that has proved unbeatable so far. The RB19 has won all ten races, with Max Verstappen winning eight. After winning the past five races, the Dutchman has a 99-point lead in the championship and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. While discussing this dominance, as per a tweet via Sky Sports, Brown seems to have mellowed his tone & said, “[Max is] doing an unbelievable, unbelievable job, and it is great to see World Champions at the top of their game, so you got to admire what he’s doing.”

The FIA introduced the budget cap to bring the field closer. While Red Bull and Verstappen seem too far ahead, the rest of the field has come closer. Brown thinks so too. “Once you look past Max, the field is unbelievably condensed. I think it’s just going to get more exciting as we move forward,” said the American.

Read More: Max Verstappen & Co’s Mastermind Conjures up “Secret” Plan to Outsmart FIA After Red Bull’s $7,000,000 Penalty

Since the Austrian GP, Brown’s McLaren has also joined the front-runners, getting the closest to Red Bull anyone has gotten this season. To keep a check on McLaren, the Milton-Keynes outfit is bringing upgrades to Hungary.

Max Verstappen & Co. set to bring upgrades after McLaren threat

McLaren introduced the second round of its major upgrade overhaul at the British GP. The updates brought the team closer to Red Bull than any other team this season. Even though the chances of catching it are slim, Red Bull doesn’t want to take any risks. After the race in Silverstone, Verstappen revealed that Red Bull would bring upgrades at the Hungarian GP to keep McLaren and the others at bay.

In an interview, he said, “It’s very confusing for me because every race weekend, someone else is fast. I honestly don’t know what will happen in Hungary, who will be fast or the second fastest. Hungary is a completely different circuit, we will put some upgrades on the car, and hopefully, they will work well. Drag, low speed, high speed, DRS effect, tire wear—we are working on all those areas.” The upgrades are expected to give Red Bull another two-tenths of an advantage.

What do you think about Max Verstappen’s dominance?

WATCH THIS STORY | Roger Federer Stands Strongly Behind Struggling Lewis Hamilton in Dire Times of Max Verstappen’s Dominance