Zak Brown slams “ridiculous” Max Verstappen | “I applaud the FIA stewards”

"I applaud the FIA stewards. Enough is enough. Let’s just have some good clean racing moving forwards."

Zak Brown
Zak Brown

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has applauded the FIA stewards for handing Max Verstappen two 10-second time penalties in the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Verstappen was handed two penalties for forcing Lando Norris off the track on two occasions.

The first happened at Turn 4 as Norris attempted to overtake Verstappen on the outside of the corner.

The same happened into Turn 7, with Verstappen trying a ridiculous lunge on his F1 title rival.

Verstappen was handed two separate 10-second time penalties, ultimately dropping him well down the order before finishing sixth.

When asked about Verstappen’s penalties, Brown told Sky Sports: “Probably not enough. It’s getting a bit ridiculous.

“I applaud the FIA stewards. Enough is enough. Let’s just have some good clean racing moving forwards.

“Lando drove brilliant. Congratulations to Carlos [Sainz] - he drove a great race. It was an exciting race.”

Brown dismissed making further complaints to the FIA about Verstappen’s driving, stating “they did a good job this weekend”.

“I think the stewards are on it - that’s clear by the penalties they assessed. We don’t need to do anything,” he added.

“Just let the stewards do their job. They did a good job this weekend.”

Ferrari's 1-3 finish in Mexico means they now trail McLaren by just 29 points in the constructors' championship with four rounds to go.

Assessing the constructors' battle, Brown said: “It’s a lot tighter than I would like it to be. It’s great for F1. It’s great to see Ferrari and McLaren going at it for the world championship. Certainly can’t rule out Red Bull. It’s going to be an exciting end to the season.”

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