McLaren boss Zak Brown addresses Max Verstappen links with bizarre comment

Max Verstappen was linked with a shock move to McLaren across the past week, and now the CEO of the 2025 Formula One constructor champions, Zac Brown, has addressed the rumours.

The Dutch driver appeared to be back to his best at the Austrian Grand Prix in the weekend just past, as he finished second in the race as George Russell secured victory in the Mercedes.

World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium for the weekend that also saw McLaren make some improvements as Oscar Piastri finished fourth.

Verstappen has been linked with a move away from Red Bull across the last year, with Mercedes rumoured to be the constructors expected to land the four-time champion if he were to leave Red Bull; however, in a shock twist, McLaren have been linked to making the Dutch driver part of their line-up.

A report from the Daily Mail suggested that Verstappen and Piastri would be part of a swap deal between the teams.

Max Verstappen

However, Zak Brown has now addressed the rumours with a bizarre comment as he spoke to Sky Sports F1 over the weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix.

He said: “If, for some strange reason, someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub, then yeah, of course, Max is a four-time world champion."

It has been reported that Verstappen has a break clause in his contract for 2027, which can be triggered if he is not in the top two in the drivers' championship by the summer break; however, the options are limited if he does leave in 2027.

While speaking to Heart radio station, Brown confirmed his happiness with the current driver line-up at McLaren.

The McLaren CEO said: “We’re a hot team. It’s a great place to be.

“We’ve got two awesome drivers in Lando and Oscar, so no intention of seeing a different line-up. But it’s flattering.

“The phone rings often, and he’s [Verstappen] a massive talent, so we’ll see what the future holds, what he ends up doing, but I know what our plan is – it’s to keep going with what we’ve got.”