Rival team boss reveals Zak Brown message after ‘amateur hour’ comment
Zak Brown is the chief executive of McLaren
Jonathan Wheatley, the Sauber team principal, has revealed that McLaren boss Zak Brown sent him an apology after initially blaming Nico Hulkenberg for the accident at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, as well as the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, were eliminated in a multi-car crash at the start of the mini race at the Circuit of the Americas last Saturday.
McLaren’s Zak Brown apologises to Jonathan Wheatley and Nico Hulkenberg
A tangle between Hulkenberg and Piastri at Turn 1 triggered the incident, with the Sauber driver escaping with font wing damage.
Brown, the McLaren chief executive, leapt to the defence of Piastri and Norris in the immediate aftermath, pointing at “some amateur hour driving” at the first corner.
The McLaren boss later revised his stance, conceding that Hulkenberg was not to blame on reflection.
Analysis: United States Grand Prix
👉 US GP conclusions: Verstappen’s big chance, more Piastri evidence, Ferrari culture clash
👉 US Grand Prix driver ratings: Verstappen shines with Piastri anonymous
Hulkenberg, who qualified an impressive fourth for the sprint race, went on to finish eighth in the main event, scoring points for the first time since he claimed his maiden podium at the British Grand Prix in July.
Brown and Hulkenberg were spotted shaking hands in a good-natured exchange on the starting grid ahead of Sunday’s race.
And Wheatley has revealed that the McLaren boss sent him an apology soon after his initial comments on the pit wall during the sprint.
He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “Zak sent me an apology really quickly afterwards and he apologised personally to Nico.
“This is a passionate sport. I love the passion.
“You’ve got two cars. You’re fighting for a world championship and your two cars get taken out of the first corner.
“It’s easy to think that it’s somebody else’s fault sometimes and you react with passion.
“I think he probably did that in the heat of the moment and the emotion.
“But I’ve known Zak a really long time. He’s a racer, we’re all racers and we sorted it out afterwards.”
More on Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber from PlanetF1.com
Wheatley went on to declare his satisfaction with Hulkenberg’s response to critics after ending his run of six races without a point since the British Grand Prix.
He said: “For Nico, what an incredible race weekend altogether.
“All the people that had criticism about him, his qualifying performance, various other criticisms over the last few months, I think you’ve probably got a reason to have another look at that [assessment].
“He was just flawless from the very first lap in FP1. You can’t help but wonder what the sprint would have brought if there wasn’t that incident at Turn 1. I’m fairly sure we’d have had some serious points out of that as well.
“And then [on race day], look at him. He just drove a flawless race again.
“I couldn’t be more happy for him and for the team.”
Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock
Read next: Lando Norris pinged by Max Verstappen as untelevised United States GP team radio emerges
