McLaren CEO Zak Brown has lambasted Max Verstappen's wheel to wheel racing tactics branding him 'a bruiser', and accusing him of being overly aggressive.

Citing Verstappen's 2021 rivalry with Lewis Hamilton, Brown put forward the Dutch driver's defence against the British champion at Turn 4 in Brazil, when Verstappen carried out a manoeuvre that saw both title contenders go off the track.

“I don’t want to disparage Max…. He’s a four-time world champion,” Brown told the Telegraph.

Francesco Cigarini, former Ferrari mechanic, during the Michael Schumacher years that saw the team emerge as double champions five consecutive times, stressed team unity in pursuit of a common goal was a key reason for the team's success.

He claimed that Ferrari should not be quick to ignore Hamilton's input simply because he can't match Leclerc's speed. Instead he argued that should they heed the seven-time world champion's feedback all - including Leclerc - would benefit.

“Today, something similar [to the Schumacher era] can be rebuilt with Lewis: signing a multiple world champion was the right choice, not only for marketing reasons but also for the experience he brings," Cigarini said in an interview with Fanpage.it.

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