Zak Brown Gives ‘Far from over’ Title Verdict After Max Verstappen’s Emilia Romagna GP Triumph

Zak Brown reckons that the 2025 season is far from over as McLaren tasted defeat against Max Verstappen in Italy.

Zak Brown and Max Verstappen (via Planetf1)

Max Verstappen left the McLarens in the dust after achieving a stellar triumph at the Emilia Romagna GP. Despite struggling throughout the weekend, Red Bull put forth a great turnaround in pace, enabling the Dutchman to clinch the victory. The superior chassis of McLaren was unable to match Verstappen’s pace as he took the lead early on in the race. Now, Zak Brown reckons that the 2025 season is far from over as Woking still has a long way to go in terms of title ambitions.

Max Verstappen‘s start to the Italian weekend remained mediocre as he failed to amass any notable results in the practice sessions. Verstappen narrowly missed out on pole position for the main race as Oscar Piastri remained dominant in his approach. However, the reigning world champion made all the difference on Sunday as he overtook Piastri in turn 1 and never looked back. Even the Italian fans were extremely delighted and celebrated the Dutchman’s win in a wholesome manner.

Now, Zak Brown has not hesitated to accept McLaren’s shortcomings in Italy as they tasted defeat against Red Bull despite their seemingly inferior pace. Brown, who had claimed that Formula 1 was heading towards the ‘Lando Norris era’, has backed down on his claims after witnessing Max Verstappen’s stellar win. The Englishman accepted that McLaren simply couldn’t beat Verstappen on Sunday as they were just faster. Moreover, the 53-year-old believes that the entire season is still left, as anything could happen.

We couldn’t beat them today, they were fast. Long season still to go and I think it just shows that this season is far from over.
Zak Brown told Viaplay

Zak Brown also revealed McLaren’s approach for the two drivers fighting against one another on the track. While Woking prevented any intra-team battles the previous year due to the Papaya Rules, the two drivers were ready to fight hard this season. Lando Norris took on Oscar Piastri during the latter stages of the race and overtook him after a long-fought battle. Brown pointed out that the team is now prepared to let the two drivers fight it out on the track, as Norris made a good move and overtook his teammate.

Let them race. That was the decision from from [the] pitwall and it was a good move Lando made.
Zak Brown added

Max Verstappen Admits He’s ‘Very Surprised’ with Stellar Emilia Romagna GP Victory

Zak Brown claims Max Verstappen ‘controlled’ pace much better than McLaren

Max Verstappen made a great move into turn 1 and overtook Oscar Piastri and never lost the lead of the race. Also, luck was on Verstappen’s side as the two safety cars helped him not only maintain his lead but also get some easy pit stops. Still, Zak Brown doesn’t want to write off the Dutchman’s hard work that helped him emerge victorious in the end.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via XPB images)

Zak Brown highlighted that Verstappen was strong from the very beginning of the race. The 27-year-old was faster than the entire grid throughout the race despite them all running almost the same strategy. At his best, the Dutchman had over 44 seconds of lead over the trailing McLaren. As such, Brown reckons that the team simply did not have anything to beat the reigning world champion on the track on Sunday.

Max was definitely very strong from the beginning to the end. I think he was faster than us all race. I mean, we were pretty much on the same lap time, but he controlled it very well. So I don’t think we had anything for him today.
Zak Brown noted

The 2025 season is just halfway in as a majority of the races remain. Max Verstappen has remained strong in his approach this year despite struggling with the Red Bull chassis. The Dutchman is only supposed to go up from this point forward as Milton Keynes continues to work hard in improving their pace. Now, it is up to McLaren to match if not surpass the Austrian constructor’s development speed in order to hold onto their championship lead.

Tags: Lando Norris Max Verstappen Oscar Piastri Zak Brown

#About the Author

Aditya Pandya

(1736 Articles Published)

Aditya is a Formula 1 and NASCAR writer at FirstSportz, nearing two years of experience covering various motorsports. Currently pursuing an engineering degree makes him particularly fascinated by the technical side of F1. His passion for Formula 1 sparked after witnessing the thrilling 2021 title battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, a season that drew him deeply into the world of motorsport. A dedicated Verstappen supporter ever since, Aditya admires the skill, resilience, and determination of the Dutchman. He is working towards a long-term career in motorsports media, with the dream of attending the renowned Monaco Grand Prix at least once in his lifetime. Apart from motorsports, he dabbles in gaming, video editing, graphic designing, and many other facets.

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