McLaren ‘peace’ theory questioned as Zak Brown faces ‘tricky’ driver call

Jenson Button questioned the theory of “peace” at McLaren as Max Verstappen rumours continue to bubble away.

Amid talk of a possible Verstappen to McLaren move, freeing Oscar Piastri to join Red Bull, Verstappen’s management has moved to hush the chatter, as has McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. The McLaren chief is facing a “really tricky situation,” according to Button.

McLaren ‘peace’ questioned as F1 driver market cranks up

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Lando Norris, Piastri and Verstappen all remain under contract at their respective teams, yet this has not stopped the rumour mill kicking into gear.

A performance-related exit clause is widely reported to exist in Verstappen’s Red Bull contract. It has been said that Verstappen could activate it if he sits outside the top two in the championship by Hungary.

The Verstappen to Mercedes talk returned, as did claims of a surprise swap deal – Verstappen to McLaren, Piastri to Red Bull.

The Mercedes and McLaren bosses, Toto Wolff and Zak Brown respectively, have poured cold water on a Verstappen move.

In a Viagogo interview, Button, the former McLaren driver, was asked how the McLaren peace could be disturbed if Verstappen arrived in place of Piastri.

“Do they have peace at McLaren. I’m not sure about that,” Button, intriguingly, countered.

Button was subsequently quizzed on why Brown would keep Piastri over signing Verstappen, the four-time world champion.

“It’s a really tricky situation for someone like Zak,” said Button.

“Both drivers have contracts, first of all, so a driver’s got to want to leave. Maybe that’s the case. Maybe one of them does want to leave. Maybe they want to try somewhere else, racing in a different team.

“But trying to get rid of one of the two drivers that were fighting for the world championship last year, that’s a tall ask.

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“I understand how good Max is. He’s a four-time world champion, and he can do things with cars that most of us can only dream of. But you still don’t know when he goes to McLaren, if he’s going to fit within that team.

“He’s only ever been at Red Bull, so it’s going to be a very different environment.

“And why change something that seems to be working at McLaren, having two drivers that have won races and were both fighting for the championship until the last race last season. It’s a tough one to call, really is.”

Brown has suggested that only if “someone slipped on a banana peel getting out of the tub,” would Verstappen to McLaren for F1 2027 become a possibility.

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