AUSTIN – McLaren boss Zak Brown has accused Red Bull’s Helmut Marko of setting Formula 1 back 10 or 20 years for comments he recent made about Lando Norris’ supposed “mental weaknesses,” adding they were in “poor taste.”
Norris is in a title fight with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and finds himself 52 points behind behind ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix.
Earlier this year, Norris admitted that he struggles to eat or drink before F1 races because of the nerves and anxiety he feels in the hours before a grand prix.
Marko appeared to reference those comments in an interview with German publication Motorsport-Magazin.
“[Max] is the best, he’s the fastest and, above all, he has the mental strength to theoretically fight for the world championship more than Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris,” Marko said.
“We know Norris has some mental weaknesses. I’ve read about some of the rituals he needs to do to perform well on race day.”
Norris has been outspoken about his struggles with mental health since joining F1, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have also talked candidly on the topic.
“I read Helmut’s comments, which I thought were disappointing but not surprising,” Brown said. “Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health. Toto has spoken about mental health, so I think it’s a serious issue that we’ve tried to talk about and bring to the forefront.
“Poking at that situation I think is pretty inappropriate and kind of sets us back 10, 20 years. But 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.”
In 2021, Norris wrote on the website for UK charity MIND: “Despite making it to F1 — something I had dreamt of ever since I began racing — I found myself questioning my own self-belief: worrying if I had what it took, comparing myself with my teammate and other drivers.
“It screws with your head. It’s tough to deal with and I’m sure many other drivers have struggled with it in the past.”
Hamilton has also talked about his battle with depression “from an early age”, while his Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has talked candidly on the subject too.
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