Zak Brown shares ‘wholly inappropriate’ Christian Horner radio message that left him baffled

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Zak Brown and Christian Horner appear to be at odds right now. This comes as McLaren and Red Bull battle for race wins and the constructors’ championship.

It’s the first time since 2012 that the two teams are both regularly contending for victories. McLaren have finally re-established themselves at the front after a slow ascent through the midfield.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are the top two drivers in the championship. Verstappen is 84 points clear, but that doesn’t reflect how closely-matched they’ve been in recent races.

Since Norris claimed his first career win in Miami with the aid of a game-changing upgrade, he’s finished a close second to Verstappen twice (Canada and Spain). They were also running one and two in Austria before a dramatic collision late on.

As he defended the lead, Verstappen closed the door on Norris at turn three, resulting in contact that gave both cars a puncture and ended the latter’s race. The stewards would hand the Dutchman a 10-second penalty.

Brown ‘went for’ Horner in the press conference at Silverstone a few days later. He accused his counterpart of ‘a lack of respect’, citing the team’s 2021 cost-cap breach and the recent dispute with Jos Verstappen.

Christian Horner message to Max Verstappen after Lando Norris crash was ‘inappropriate’

Speaking to The Independent, Brown expressed his disbelief at Horner’s radio communications with Verstappen after the Austria incident. The Englishman said that Norris ‘didn’t behave correctly’ and called his driver ‘desperately unlucky’.

Brown maintains that Verstappen’s driving was clearly a violation of the regulations. Martin Brundle has said Red Bull ‘damaged their credibility’ with their stance.

“To have Christian come on the radio and actually squarely point the problem at Lando – who are you kidding?” he said. “Everyone has seen it.

“The regulations are very clear – you’ve got to leave a car’s width. He didn’t. Why did he have to say anything? It just felt wholly inappropriate.”

Zak Brown unhappy with what Lando Norris said about Max Verstappen

In the same interview, Brown claimed Red Bull ‘insulted’ their F1 rivals by partly attributing their cost-cap breach to catering costs. Clearly, he feels that the team lack grace.

The battle for the constructors’ championship could define the second half of the season, with McLaren and Red Bull likely to be the protagonists. Ferrari are losing ground, and Mercedes’ poor start will likely cost them.

In the drivers’, however, Norris would need the biggest turnaround in the modern era to defeat Verstappen. And given the 26-year-old’s ruthless consistency, that seems extremely unlikely.

Still, their battles this season will form the early foundation of their rivalry. If McLaren can match the Bulls from the outset next year, they could genuinely go head-to-head for the title.

And that may be why Brown and Andrea Stella were frustrated with Norris for his recent comments about Verstappen. The Briton initially demanded an apology following the Red Bull Ring clash.

But he adopted a conciliatory tone at Silverstone, insisting an apology wasn’t necessary. The team leadership privately felt that he made himself look weak, accepting a psychological defeat.