McLaren boss Zak Brown pours fuel all over Red Bull rivalry

McLaren team boss Zak Brown has delivered a not-so-subtle jab at Red Bull in the latest chapter of the long-running F1 feud.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has poured fuel all over the Formula 1 team’s rivalry with Red Bull at the Miami Grand Prix.

The two teams have been locked in a fierce rivalry since McLaren flipped the script and stole Red Bull’s mantle atop the F1 standings.

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As the Woking-based team asserted their dominance on the grid, Red Bull raised questions over their rise to supremacy.

One of those questions raised in the latter stages of the 2024 season centred around the use of water being used inside of tyres to cool them down.

The theory was that teams had worked out a way to inject water into the tyres through valves which would then keep them cool throughout a race and limit degradation.

Despite the FIA conducting a probe into the accusations and finding no wrongdoings, Red Bull have refused to let sleeping dogs lie.

It led Brown to deliver a cheeky jab at his rivals as McLaren’s dominance goes to new heights in 2025.

Zak Brown with tire water stickers on his water bottle

During the opening practice session at the Miami Grand Prix on Friday, cameras panned to the McLaren pit wall where Brown was seen watching the action unfold with a water bottle in front of him.

The bottle had been decorated with ‘tire water’ stickers and Brown didn’t miss a beat as the cameras panned to him as he scooped up the bottle and took an almighty sip.

Footage of Brown’s not-so-subtle dig was shown to Red Bull boss Christian Horner who took it in stride.

“We’ll send him a Red Bull down if he needs some energising,” he said on Sky Sports.

The rivalry remains as spicy as ever. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Brown couldn’t help himself. Hector Vivas/Getty Images/AFP

While the initial accusations were shut down by the FIA, Red Bull remain adamant McLaren are operating outside the rules and have reportedly turned to using thermal cameras.

The team are said to be using the technology to try to figure out how McLaren manage to keep their tyre temperatures so well in check no matter the conditions, Auto Motor und Sport reports.

According to the report thermal images taken from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia showed McLaren’s rear brakes had “many blue spots around the brake drums, while all the other cars have a lot of orange and red”.

The team’s conclusion was simple ‘it’s impossible that you can cool so well with air alone’.

McLaren however shut down those assertions and said the car was able to keep its tyres in check for longer due to the downforce, balance and the overall innovation.

The rivalry will be back in the spotlight when the Miami Grand Prix sprint race gets underway at 2am (AEST).

Originally published as McLaren boss Zak Brown pours fuel all over Red Bull rivalry