McLaren Chief Rips Into Red Bull’s ‘Mental Weakness’ Comments After Lando Norris Attack

Saajan Jogia | 3 Hours Ago

McLaren Formula 1 Team driver Lando Norris of Team Great Britain greets fans at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas Friday October 18, 2024. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

McLaren CEO Zak Brown expressed no surprise at Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko's "mental weaknesses" jab toward Lando Norris, calling it a remark in "pretty poor taste" that sets the premier class of motorsport back by 10 or 20 years.

Marko, who has been known for his candid opinions and his soft corner toward Max Verstappen, has witnessed McLaren's resurgence this season, which surpassed Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris, meanwhile, continues to close the gap to Verstappen in the Drivers' Standings, with the margin now reduced to just 52 points.

However, the 81-year-old advisor is confident that Verstappen will win the 2024 Formula 1 championship over Norris because he is mentally stronger. Marko even included Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in the equation, citing that Verstappen is stronger than him as well. He said in an interview with Motorsport-Magazin:

"[Max] is the best, he's the fastest and, above all, he has the mental strength to theoretically fight for the world championship more than Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

"We know Norris has some mental weaknesses. I've read about some of the rituals he needs to do to perform well on race day."

Motorsport.com referred to an interview with Norris from the Italian Grand Prix where he revealed that he gets nervous and excited on race weekends to the point where he can't eat anything. He said:

"I still get so nervous for qualifying and for the races, I still get just as excited and just as nervous.

"I barely eat anything on Sundays. I struggle to drink anything on Sundays, just because of nerves and just because of pressure.

"I think it's just about how you turn that into a positive thing. How do you not let it affect you in a bad way, and how can you actually use it in a good way, to help you focus on the correct things?"

On the contrary, Brown mentioned Norris was an "ambassador for mental health," as he aligns himself with various such initiatives to shed light on related issues. Terming Marko's act "inappropriate," he said:

"I read Helmut's comments, which I thought were disappointing but not surprising.

"Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health. Toto [Wolff] has spoken about mental health, so I think it's a serious issue that we've tried to talk about and bring to the forefront.

"Poking at that situation I think is pretty inappropriate and kind of sets us back 10-20 years. But 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."