Red Bull's Helmut Marko has hit back at McLaren CEO Zak Brown for 'twisting' his words about the 'mental weakness' of Lando Norris.
Norris and Verstappen came to blows again during the Texas Grand Prix as the reigning world champion overtook the Brit off the line as Norris failed to convert pole to the race lead for the fifth time.
The new rivals also tangled in the closing exchanges of the race as Norris overtook the Dutchman due to fresher tires, however, Norris was later given a penalty for 'overtaking off-track'.
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Norris' five-second penalty put him back behind Verstappen, causing a major blow to his 2025 title hopes.
Prior to the battle on the track, there was a significant war of words between Helmut Marko and Zac Brown following Marko's comments on Norris.
Brown labeled Marko 'inappropriate' after he criticised Norris for not being as mentally strong as his championship rival.
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“Norris has a weak start and he is also not the strongest in the head," Marko told OE24.
Despite this rather damning statement, Marko hit back at Brown claiming what he said had nothing to do with Norris' mental strength.
“There was a fuss again just because I said that Norris is a bad starter. But I never talked about mental health, only that Max is mentally stronger," The 81-year-old said via OE24.
“You can’t twist the wording – that’s a deliberate attempt to cause unrest. But we know the games played by Zak Brown, he deliberately stirs up trouble wherever he can.”
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Marko is often at the forefront of any controversy at Red Bull, with the Austrian being forced to apologise to Sergio Perez for blaming his poor form on his 'cultural heritage' last season.
Following Charles Leclerc's victory in Austin, Norris now sits 57 points behind Verstappen with just five races remaining and two sprint races remaining.
Topics: McLaren, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Helmut Marko, Formula 1
Tom Jenkins