Max Verstappen has laughed off criticism of his aggressive style of racing from Zak Brown, quipping that the McLaren boss “failed” in his own racing career.

Max Verstappen claimed a fourth consecutive World Championship in F1 2024, seeing off the threat of McLaren driver Lando Norris to clinch the title by a margin of 63 points.

Max Verstappen: Zak Brown ‘failed in racing’

The Red Bull driver’s crowning moment in Las Vegas came just weeks after a clash with Norris in Mexico, where Verstappen was hit with two 10-second penalties in quick succession for separate incidents with his rival.

Verstappen’s conduct in wheel-to-wheel battle provoked a furious response from Brown, who criticised the 27-year-old in the immediate aftermath of the race.

Brown said: “He’s such an awesome racing driver that I just don’t think he needs to drive like that. Just drive like the World Champion you are.

“It was unnecessary, puts everybody at risk and it’s not clean racing.”

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Brown’s comments about Verstappen came just months after he criticised the Red Bull team’s handling of their driver in the aftermath of the collision between Norris and Verstappen in Austria.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com at Silverstone a week later, Brown questioned Red Bull’s “win-at-all-costs” mentality, adding: “Nasty is not how McLaren goes racing.”

A clip has surfaced of Verstappen responding to Brown’s criticism in Mexico by laughing at the McLaren chief executive’s “failed” career as a racing driver.

In a documentary produced by Viaplay, a laughing Verstappen says in reaction to Brown’s comments: “I always find that really funny, coming from someone that failed himself in racing.”

Having fallen short of the 2024 title, Brown has claimed that Norris now “knows exactly how to deal with Max on the track” ahead of a potential F1 2025 rematch.

He said: “I think Lando has learned how to fight against Max.

‘Because Max has been very open about how he drives. If you try to overtake him on the outside, he won’t let you.

“But Lando gave him a great fight in Mexico and also made sure that there was no clash between the two of them. We were fighting for the Constructors‘ title and we couldn’t afford to be too aggressive.

“So Lando did the right thing and I think he knows exactly how to deal with Max on the track.

“I am convinced that he will perform differently next year.”

Verstappen recently offered a glimpse a rare insight into his mindset in wheel-to-wheel situations, admitting that he is prepared to “cross the line” in pursuit of the “maximum result.”

He said: “I will always get the maximum out of it. Sometimes you have to cross a line and I’ll do that.

“I will do everything to get the maximum result out of it for a championship.

“And, of course, yes, sometimes you have to be on the limit, over the limit.

“You have to calculate all that, and not everyone understands that. Not everyone has that mentality.”

Despite finishing a distant sixth in Mexico, Verstappen went on to defend his moves against Norris in the early stages of that race.

The Red Bull driver claimed that he actually gained points against Norris in Mexico by forcing him off the circuit and causing him to lose position, effectively denying him victory, with the McLaren driver ultimately finishing second, 4.7 seconds behind race winner Carlos Sainz.

Asked if he felt any regret about his tactics in Mexico, Verstappen replied: “No. That race? Not at all. No.

“I think I actually won points there.”

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