Max Verstappen teased Zak Brown after the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Image: Sky Sports F1)
has teased about his past comments suggesting that the star could ‘only win in the fastest car’ after the Racing CEO interrupted a Sky Sports F1 interview in Las Vegas.
Verstappen went into the second running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix knowing that he just needed to outscore title rival to seal a fourth successive Drivers’ Championship triumph, and he did just that, crossing the line in P5 with the Brit behind in P6 with the fastest lap point.
This result ended a battle that was ignited back at the Miami Grand Prix and produced a number of iconic on-track clashes between the two stars. Ultimately, the first six races cost Norris and , who will have their sights set on the crown in 2025.
During an interview with Sky Sports F1, Brown – who was walking by in the paddock – butted in to congratulate the now-four-time world champion. Verstappen, smiling and laughing all the same, couldn’t resist a dig at the chief.
“And like you said, before I could only win it in the fastest car,” the Dutchman joked, prompting laughs from both parties as they shared an embrace.
Verstappen’s comments are well-founded too. Since round six of the campaign in Miami, and have traded blows, and it was victories in sub-par machinery in Imola, Montreal and Barcelona that helped limit the damage for the 27-year-old.
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Lando Norris was under no illusions after the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Image: Getty)
After the Spanish Grand Prix triumph in June, Verstappen went on a run of 10 races without a victory – an almost unprecedented streak given his dominance in the ground-effect era. However, despite , and even occasionally providing significant threats during this spell, the four-time world champion never finished lower than sixth.
In the view of Norris, the season was lost in the five races at the front end of the campaign where Verstappen racked up four victories and kicked off a run of seven consecutive pole positions.
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“We were the fourth-best team at the beginning of the year,” Norris explained. ” have never been the fourth-best team or worst, let’s say, ever. We had just too big of a deficit to catch up from the beginning of the season, and we could not, because they’ve been too strong.
“Next year, we’ll go into the season with a car we think we can win a championship with from round one, and we’ve not been able to do that for the last six years, so I’m excited for that. But I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. My first win in Formula One, my first three [wins], no one else is there fighting him. It’s been me and it’s been .”