Zak Brown scolded by driver as McLaren chief called out for Max Verstappen comments

Liam Lawson believes that Zak Brown 'doesn't understand' the inner workings of the Red Bull team after he suggested that Racing Bulls would be ahead of Christian Horner's squad in the standings without the heroics of Max Verstappen.

"They would probably be behind AlphaTauri (Racing Bulls)," the McLaren Racing CEO told Sky Sports F1 ahead of the British Grand Prix when asked where Red Bull would be without the four-time world champion. "They have done a great job and have a great racing car, so I think Max is carrying them at the moment." Red Bull are currently sitting fourth in the Constructors' Championship standings, 47 points behind Mercedes in third, while Racing Bulls are down in sixth with 126 fewer points than their sister organisation.

However, Brown's comments seem less outlandish when you consider that all but seven of Red Bull's 162 points have been brought in by Verstappen. Lawson failed to register any points in his two Grand Prix weekends before being dropped into the sister team, while Yuki Tsunoda has a best finish of ninth since replacing the New Zealander.

In fact, rookie Iscak Hadjar has 21 points to his name, and Lawson scored a sixth-place finish in Austria last weekend after out-qualifying Verstappen, demonstrating a significant performance boost since leaving Red Bull.

Despite the worrying statistics, Lawson believes that the true nature of the situation is more complicated than Brown would know. "I don't think Zak Brown understands," the 23-year-old said at Silverstone. "It's easy to comment on stuff when you are not involved and you're outside of the picture. So, I don't think he understands."

Even Lawson, who spent two Grand Prix weekends behind the wheel of the RB21, doesn't feel comfortable enough to explain the inner workings of Red Bull's ill-handling 2025 challenger.

For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express F1 newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.

"I guess I didn't have anywhere near enough time, on two tracks I'd never been to, to really understand," he continued. "In two weekends, I don't have enough feel of the car to be able to comment, honestly, on what its speed is like and things like that.

"We were working on things to improve it and make it better for me as well, and never got the chance to use them. I can comment on a Racing Bulls car, because that's what I've spent most of my time driving."

For Lawson and Racing Bulls, attention is directed at the tense Constructors' Championship battle. Only 10 points separate the Faenza-based squad in sixth from ninth-placed Sauber, with Haas and Aston Martin sandwiched between them.