Zak Brown says Red Bull taught McLaren a vital lesson with ‘let Sergio by’ message to Max Verstappen

McLaren dethroned Red Bull by winning the Formula 1 constructors’ championship this year. They reigned for three seasons, but Zak Brown’s squad have now completed their resurgence.

Red Bull ultimately finished 77 points adrift of McLaren, having been 99 ahead after the Chinese GP in April. Max Verstappen won four of the first five races, with Sergio Perez finishing second in three of them.

There were three main reasons for the epic 176-point swing that followed. First, McLaren made major upgrades to their car to become F1’s fastest team, starting at the Miami GP.

Second, Red Bull lost their way as they tried to improve a concept that had looked perfect in 2023. And third, Perez descended into a spiral, leaving Christian Horner with one reliable points scorer.

The next target for McLaren is a championship double. Despite the dramatic shift in the competitive landscape, Lando Norris still finished 63 points behind Verstappen.

The constructors’ trophy is a testament to the collective strength of McLaren. But they still lack the ruthless, winning edge that allowed Verstappen and Red Bull to prevail in the more meaningful drivers’ championship.

Zak Brown says Max Verstappen’s ‘no way Jose’ stance taught McLaren key lesson

One of the major talking points in F1 from the summer onwards was McLaren’s use of team orders. They were initially reluctant to impose a driver hierarchy, which hurt Norris’ title bid.

But from Azerbaijan onwards, they made it clear that they would favour Norris. The most notable instance of preferential treatment came during the Sao Paulo GP Sprint, when the team told Oscar Piastri to move over and let Norris win.

Norris returned the favour at the same event in Qatar, slowing down on the run to finish the line so his teammate could pass. While he’s received extensive assistance from Perez, Verstappen refused to obey team orders at Interlagos in 2022.

The Dutchman was already champion at the time, but he ignored the team’s instruction to return a position to Perez on the final lap. Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Brown put this down to miscommunication.

“As long as you communicate on the front end, then when you get into the race and things play out, it’s already been discussed,” he said.

“If you look at Brazil, I think they came on the radio to Max and said ‘let Sergio by’ and Max said ‘no way, Jose’, it appeared to me – and I could be wrong, I’m not on the inside there – that maybe that wasn’t discussed on the front end. The last thing you want to do is start talking to a Grand Prix driver about something you haven’t discussed with two laps to go.”

Why Nico Rosberg didn’t like Lando Norris’ radio message to McLaren before 2025 Red Bull duel

Perez had moved aside so Verstappen could chase Fernando Alonso, under the proviso that the positions would be reversed if he couldn’t make a move. But driver number 33 wouldn’t uphold his end of the deal.

Given that he’d already won the title, he was roundly criticised for this display of self-interest. But it also demonstrates just how ruthless Norris will have to be to end his run of four in a row in 2025.

Speaking after his win in Abu Dhabi, Norris said ‘next year’s my year’. Nico Rosberg was concerned by the radio message because he felt it generated ‘unnecessary’ pressure.

Rosberg told Norris to push for a rule change clamping down on Verstappen’s wheel-to-wheel tactics. He should use every weapon at his disposal to unsettle the 63-time race-winner.