McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has said the team must ignore the “horror movie” character of Max Verstappen as the Red Bull driver remains a serious threat in the F1 title race.
Verstappen, who started sixth in Saturday’s Qatar Grand Prix sprint (live on Sky Sports F1 from 2pm), is 24 points behind championship leader Lando Norris with two races remaining.
The Dutchman has been back in the title race since losing 104 points to Oscar Piastri after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, and mathematically he will remain in the championship at the final in Abu Dhabi if he stays less than 26 points behind Norris.
“He’s the kind of guy you see in horror movies where you think you’re depressed and then all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Where did you come from?!'” Brawn told Sky Sports F1.
“He’s an immense talent, better than anyone we’ve ever seen. I think we have to ignore him and we can’t control what he does.
“Our idea is that if we get on the front row and finish first and second, we don’t have to worry about him, but that’s easier said than done.”
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McLaren CEO Zac Brown likens Max Verstappen’s aggression during Qatar Grand Prix to a character in a horror movie
Brawn’s comments came as he told PA that Verstappen would have “easily” already won the drivers’ championship had he been behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2025 car.
“I don’t talk about championships,” the four-time world champion said without hesitation.
“I mean, they won the constructors’ championship very quickly, so yeah, they can fill it themselves.”
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All about Max Verstappen’s passionate radio message on the first day of the Qatar GP
Title protagonist with different targets in Qatar Sprint
Verstappen has work to do in Saturday’s sprint and will start sixth, having failed to qualify for the second time this year to teammate Hiroki Tsunoda.
Despite making changes to the car to alleviate tricky handling, the Red Bull driver struggled with bounce throughout Friday.
“With this balance, the sprint won’t be as fun. It’ll probably be about trying to survive and trying to make some changes for qualifying,” he said.
After being confused with Williams’ Alex Albon on his outlap, Norris struggled on his final flying lap and went wide at the final corner, meaning he would start behind George Russell and Sprint pole-sitter Piastri.
“It would be foolish not to try to win, but it’s impossible to overtake, so I think I’ll probably finish third,” Norris said.
“Passing George Russell on the line is probably the best I could hope for.”
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Lando Norris secured third place in the Qatar GP Sprint and said he expected to finish the race in the same position.
Piastri has a great chance to close the 24-point gap to Norris by at least one point on Saturday, before looking to build an even bigger lead in Sunday’s main grand prix.
He has struggled in the four Americas races since the Singapore Grand Prix in early October, failing to beat Norris by more than a lap, but if the sprint pole is anything to go by, he could make a mini-fightback of his own in the final two race weekends.
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Oscar Piastri joins Karun Chandok at Skypad and reflects on his pole-winning lap in the sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix
“The pace was going all day, so it was good to be able to put it together,” Piastri said.
“We will review overnight to see what we can do to ensure we finish first in tomorrow’s sprint and properly prepare for qualifying.”
Sky Sports F1 Qatar GP Schedule
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A look back at some of the most dramatic moments that happened at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Saturday, November 29th
1pm: Qatar GP Sprint build-up*
2pm: Qatar GP Sprint*
3:30pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook*
4:15pm: F2 Sprint
5:15pm: Qatar GP qualifying build-up
6pm: Qatar GP Qualifying
8pm: Ted’s Qualification Notebook
Sunday, November 30th
11:55am: F2 Special
2:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Qatar GP Build-up
4pm: Qatar Grand Prix
6pm: Checkered flag: Qatar GP reaction
7pm: Ted’s Notes
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1’s season-ending triple header continues with the Qatar Grand Prix Sprint weekend, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
