Verstappen dismisses Brown's 'stirring' tactics over Newey exit

Verstappen unfazed by Brown's comments

In the wake of the bombshell announcement that Adrian Newey will leave Red Bull, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown weighed in.

He stated that he was "not surprised" and that Newey would "probably be the first domino to fall".

Brown implied more high-profile departures could follow at Red Bull amidst the team's recent off-track saga.

However, reigning world champion Max Verstappen has hit back at Brown's remarks, suggesting the McLaren boss is simply trying to "stir things up" and take advantage of any perceived opportunity.

"He obviously wants to stir things up,"

said Verstappen.

"For us as a team, we can't do anything with comments like that."

Attempting to attract talent

The Dutchman acknowledged Brown's perspective, understanding that rival teams are naturally attempting to attract Red Bull's talented personnel amid the Newey situation.

"From his point of view, I understand it of course, because everyone is trying to attract our people and that is completely normal in the world of Formula 1 as well."

Verstappen, however, remains unfazed by such speculative comments, stating,

"I'm not really interested in those things either. I see the headlines, but I don't even click on them."

Future at Red Bull

With Verstappen's future at Red Bull also a topic of debate, the two-time world champion was asked whether Newey's impending exit could directly impact his decision to stay with the team.

While not ruling it out entirely, Verstappen responded, "Not at the moment," suggesting Newey's departure is currently not a factor in his future plans.

He criticized the media for "making up a lot of things" due to a lack of understanding of the roles within the Red Bull team, but acknowledged he would have preferred Newey to stay, citing the designer's vast knowledge and experience.

"Of course, like I said before, I cannot deny that I would have preferred him to stay, just for how he is as a person, his knowledge.

And of course, what he will bring to potentially another team if he wants to join."

Verstappen, however, expressed confidence in Red Bull's existing personnel, stating,

"Besides that, I trust that the people that we have, they are incredibly good at what they do."