McLaren managing director Zak Brown has sharply criticized comments made by Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko about World Cup chaser Lando Norris and his mental state. “I think it’s pretty inappropriate to poke around in that and it sets us back ten or twenty years,” emphasized Brown. The 81-year-old Marko recently said in an interview on oe24.at that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen would win the World Cup again will win because the 27-year-old Dutchman is the best mentally and drivingly. Marko had added: “Norris has a weak start and he’s not the strongest in the head. The pressure increases with every race because in reality he has to win every time in order to catch up.” Before the US Grand Prix, Norris is in second place in the World Championship standings. Mental health in Formula 1 “in the “Brown said he had read the comments, “they are disappointing, but not surprising.” Norris (24) is something of an ambassador for mental health. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also spoke about it. “I think this is a serious topic that we are trying to talk about and bring to the fore,” explained the 57-year-old American. Norris had recently spoken openly about the fact that he was still very nervous before races and qualifications. On Sundays, for example, he could hardly eat or drink anything because of the nerves and pressure. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen narrowly secured pole position for the Formula 1 sprint race in Austin. The Dutch World Championship leader raced to first place in qualifying with a lead of 12 thousandths of a second. “We had a good day. I am very happy. The car worked very well and I’m very happy to be in first place again,” said Verstappen before he was presented with the trophy for pole by Germany’s decathlon star Leo Neugebauer. Second place was George Russell in the Mercedes. Charles Leclerc finished third in the Ferrari, ahead of World Championship pursuer Norris in the McLaren. Nico Hülkenberg from the American Haas team finished a strong sixth. “To be honest, I didn’t really feel comfortable in the car,” the Rhineland native told Sky, the car was “a bit bitchy”. It was already clear in the only free practice session that the innovations on the Red Bull were the ones from have the effect the bosses and Verstappen hoped for. Verstappen took third place behind Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari and Leclerc in the 60-minute session on the partly newly asphalted course. Norris also came fourth there. The trend continued in the knockout elimination for the fourth sprint race of the season. Verstappen won the first three sprints this year, and with another win he would bag the additional eight points again. Before the race over around 100 kilometers this Saturday (8 p.m. in the F.A.Z. live ticker for Formula 1 and on Sky), he has a 52-point lead over Norris.Mercedes pilotNorris’ teammate Oscar Piastri, after all, a two-time Grand Prix winner this year, failed in the first period. His fastest lap was canceled because the Australian was off the track in his McLaren. Piastri will have to tackle the 19 laps at the Circuit of the Americas from position 16. While Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull was caught in the second knockout round and the Mexican once again fell short of expectations in eleventh place , Verstappen was able to keep up with the fastest again. He was only 16 thousandths of a second behind Sainz in the second section.More on the topicBut both Mercedes drivers were also strong in the significantly changed Silver Arrow. The course suits Hamilton in particular – the record world champion has already won the Grand Prix in Austin five times, but in the last three years the winner was Verstappen. In the crucial minutes for the best starting position for the sprint decision, Russell made an early lead. Hamilton was initially faster than his teammate, but when Argentinian Franco Colapinto spun in the Williams, he had to slow down and lost valuable time. The competitors left a little later and in the end Verstappen, who had celebrated his last Grand Prix victory to date on June 23rd in Spain, was in first place.
Go to Source