By Alan Baldwin
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – McLaren boss Zak Brown accused Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko of poor taste and setting Formula One back decades for comments about the mental resilience of title contender Lando Norris.
The Austrian had suggested McLaren’s Norris had “mental weaknesses” compared to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and cited the Briton’s pre-race rituals as proof of his fragile state of mind.
Norris, 24, has been an outspoken campaigner for mental health.
The Briton is Verstappen’s closest title rival but still 52 points behind with six rounds remaining.
“I read Helmut’s comments, which I thought were disappointing but not surprising. Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health,” Brown told a U.S. Grand Prix news conference.
“(Mercedes boss) Toto (Wolff) has spoken about mental health, so I think it’s a serious issue we’ve tried to talk about to bring to the forefront and make it okay to talk about,” added the American.
“Poking at that situation, I think is pretty inappropriate and kind of sets us back 10-20 years.
“But you know, it’s all fun and games in how some people go racing and what tactics they use from a sporting perspective, but I thought that one was in pretty poor taste.”
Brown said Norris was very focused and excited for the final round of races.
Marko, 81 and a former racer, has a record of controversial comments.
Last year the Austrian, who reports to the energy drink company and is not an employee of the British-based champions, had to apologise after blaming his team’s Mexican driver Sergio Perez’s fluctuating form on his ethnicity.
The comments made headlines in Mexico and across the internet.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
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