McLaren go on the attack as Verstappen tightens the vise — Brown wary of a 2007 sting
With four rounds left and the pressure ratcheting up, McLaren are keeping their elbows out rather than looking over their shoulders. Max Verstappen has hacked the gap down to Lando Norris to 36 points, but Zak Brown and Andrea Stella insist the orange camp won’t blink first — and they certainly won’t pick a winner in papaya.
“If we don’t win, he beats us — we don’t beat ourselves. That’s important,” Brown said on the Beyond the Grid podcast, invoking the spectre of 2007 without flinching. “We’re playing offence, we’re not playing defence.”
You don’t need to explain why 2007 still stings in Woking. Two McLaren drivers level on points, Kimi Räikkönen sneaking the title for Ferrari on the final day — it’s the archetypal “how did that get away?” For a team now fronting two title shots of its own, the scars are useful. The message from the pit wall is clear: no in-fighting, no self-sabotage, no gifts for Red Bull.
Stella, for his part, echoed the stance. If Verstappen pulls off a heist from here, McLaren will tip the cap, but the priority is unchanged: ensure one of their own finishes the job. There’s been no appetite to throw the weight of the team behind a single number just yet. Not while they still believe both drivers can bring the big trophy back to the MTC.
That tone suits Norris, whose candid debriefs have become a feature of his rise. Jacques Villeneuve, never shy with an opinion, reckons Lando’s ability to own his errors is a “super strength” — the kind of self-audit that pays off when the margins shrink to millimetres. The 1997 world champion even drew a line to Räikkönen. Different delivery, same intensity. Kimi didn’t say much, but you knew exactly how badly he wanted it.
Not everyone thinks McLaren have been clinical enough. Sergio Perez — set for a Cadillac chapter next — stirred the pot by suggesting the “messing around” at the front has helped Verstappen claw his way back into contention. Perez’s take won’t play well in Woking, but the broader point lands: leave points on the table in this phase of the season and the guy in the No. 1 car will gobble them up. He always has.
Elsewhere, an old voice weighed in on a new era. Bernie Ecclestone offered a withering verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s first season in red, labelling the move to Ferrari a “financial marketing project” in its current form and arguing the Scuderia still needs a hard-edged, singular leader at the top. “Everything is slipping away from him there,” Ecclestone added. “He wanted to become world champion there and is now surprised that he can’t do it.” It’s classic Bernie: blunt to the point of bruising. Whether you buy it or not, the scrutiny around Ferrari’s Hamilton project isn’t going anywhere as the calendar winds down.
And in a lighter slice of news, Formula 1 has created its first “season ticket.” In tandem with an extended Heineken deal, British fan Brandon Burgess has been handed the golden passport: access for two to all 24 races, travel and hotels included. There are worse ways to learn the airport codes by heart.
So where does that leave the title fight? The math says Verstappen has a runway. The mood at McLaren says they’re not about to hand him an opening. Brown’s line — offence, not defence — is the tell. It means aggressive strategy calls, a willingness to dictate rather than react, and absolutely no repeats of the kind of intra-team tangle that can turn a championship lead into a liability.
McLaren have the quicker car often enough. Red Bull have the hunter who never wastes a scent. Four races, two philosophies, one very familiar warning sign hanging over it all from 2007.
Now it’s about execution. Don’t beat yourselves — or Max will do it for you.
