Zak Brown expects Max Verstappen Qatar GP Flip 1 lunge: "You do not need to miss the beginning"

McLaren CEO Zak Brown says he “would not miss the beginning” of Sunday’s Method 1 Qatar Grand Prix as he expects an ultra-aggressive Max Verstappen to assault Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen certified third behind polesitter Piastri on Saturday, with Norris ranging from second on the soiled aspect of the grid. If these positions remained unchanged throughout the race, Verstappen can be mathematically eradicated from the title battle, with a Piastri win taking the intra-McLaren battle to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

And with Doha’s Losail monitor being nearly unimaginable to overhaul on and the methods locked into a compulsory two-stopper, McLaren chief Brown expects the four-time world champion to be at his most aggressive in the beginning of Sunday’s 57-lap race.

“For certain, you realize he’ll try to lead into Flip 1, so I would not miss the beginning of tomorrow’s grand prix,” Brown informed F1 TV.

“Our aim is to ensure papaya wins this championship, so if we are able to end the place we have began right here and simply have it’s a two-horse race in Abu Dhabi, that is our aim. And in the event that they need to reverse positions that is as much as them, I do not care.

“It is enterprise as normal, they know the foundations, we love watching them race, they race one another onerous, they race one another cleanly, so, they know if they will sort of take a look at that we’ll be wanting good in Abu Dhabi. However let’s examine, they have to try this first.”

Photograph by: Steven Tee / LAT Pictures by way of Getty Pictures

Pink Bull advisor Helmut Marko can be anticipating fireworks from his driver: “Actually. And when you realize Max is alongside you, most drivers get nervous,” he informed Sky Germany.

Increasing to Motorsport.com, he mentioned: “Overtaking is sort of unimaginable. I feel it’s a must to do it within the first nook or within the first two laps. However we have now two stops and that provides some tactical potentialities.”

Marko believes Verstappen is in higher form within the race than in qualifying after Pink Bull dialled out the worst of the automotive’s bouncing points. And whereas Verstappen nonetheless struggled from oversteer in qualifying, Marko believes the RB21 could be nearer to the McLarens on the tougher tyre compounds used within the race.

“We modified so much. To begin with, we put an [another] outdated ground, which was in higher form than the one which was broken, and we made another adjustments,” he mentioned. “So we cured it and it confirmed. We had been roughly half a second behind the entire weekend. And now it is solely two tenths, in order that makes us really feel assured.

“I am nonetheless optimistic as a result of the distinction on the medium and onerous tyre was even much less, so I imagine within the race we might be aggressive.”

Pictures from Qatar GP – Dash and Qualifying

Oscar Piastri, McLaren