McLaren CEO Zak Brown didn't hold back in his assessment of Max Verstappen's driving at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday.
Verstappen has been vying for the Formula 1 drivers' title with McLaren driver Lando Norris, who accused his Red Bull counterpart of "dangerous" driving in Mexico. The reigning world champion was issued with a pair of 10-second penalties during the race, and was given two penalty points on his super-licence after it concluded.
Norris crossed the line in second on Sunday, with Carlos Sainz claiming victory for Ferrari. Verstappen ended up down in sixth after his eventful race, meaning the gap between the pair dropped to 47 points at its conclusion.
It was the second week in a row where the battle between Verstappen and Norris has got spicy, with McLaren left frustrated after the pair battled it out in the United States. This time, though, the team CEO wasn't mincing his words.
"I mean, it's getting a bit ridiculous," Brown told Sky Sports. "I applaud the FIA stewards. Enough is enough. Let's just have some good clean racing moving forwards."
Brown accepted the stewards "did a good job," though. "I think the stewards are on it, I think that's clear by the penalties that were given," he said.
While Norris gained ground on Verstappen in the drivers' standings, the constructors' championship has become a three-way battle. It was a second straight race win for Ferrari after Charles Leclerc's victory in Austin, allowing the Italian team to leapfrog Red Bull to move second behind McLaren, though just 54 points separate the top three teams.
Last weekend's race in the United States saw Norris lose a spot to Verstappen after leaving the track while overtaking his rival. Speaking after the latest race, he indicated he knew the scale of the test that was likely to arrive in Mexico City.
"The first few laps, a lot of it was just trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes," the title contender said after moving up to 315 points. It's already his best season return, with four races left to go.
"I knew what to expect," Norris added. "I did not want to expect such a thing, because I respect Max a lot as a driver, but I was ready for something like this. It was not very clean driving, in my opinion, but I avoided it and it was a good race."
Norris also vented his frustration over team radio while the race was going on. "This guy is dangerous," he told his team. "It is the same as last time, mate. I will end up in a wall in a minute."
