"Their dislike for each other is not my problem": Max Verstappen opens up on the Zak Brown-Christian Horner rivalry

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen claimed that team principal Christian Horner and McLaren CEO Zak Brown's rivalry was not his "problem". The two team bosses have not shied away from taking shots at each other from time to time as was evidenced earlier in the weekend.

Heading into the US Grand Prix weekend, the Austrian team was found to be using a bib device that FIA later clamped down. However, Brown wasn't convinced by the statement put out by Red Bull and in the team principal's press conference, asked for a thorough investigation from the FIA regarding the matter.

Christian Horner did not take the accusation lying down and took shots at Brown for stirring things up. Speaking with De Telegraaf, Max Verstappen mentioned that the the war of words between Horner and Brown had nothing to do with him as he said:

"It's not necessarily McLaren, it's more Zak. He doesn't like Christian - and I think the feeling is mutual. But their dislike for each other is not my problem. I have a fine relationship with Zak. We don’t call each other, but I just saw him, and everything is fine."

The off-track chatter did not have any repercussions on the three-time world champion's on-track performances given he finished P1 in the Sprint and would start from P2 for the main race.

Max Verstappen gives his take on missing out on pole position in qualifying

Red Bull driver stated that he was a "good amount up" on Lando Norris's pole lap on his final run but could not complete the lap as George Russell brought the Q3 to a premature close after crashing in the barriers.

In the post-qualifying press conference, the 27-year-old said:

"Yeah, I mean, I was a good amount up, but already my first lap in Q3, I missed Turn 19. So I don't know what happened there. I just turned in, probably a bit late, and tried to carry a bit more speed. But then, of course, when you're late, you end up really wide. So I had to downshift one more time. So I lost quite a bit of lap time there. That would have already been enough for pole."

"So I knew that the second lap, you know, there was time to find, for free, but never really got to that corner. So, I mean, that happens, you know, in qualifying, it's not always in your control. I think in general, though, for us, this whole weekend so far has been a lot more positive."

Max Verstappen has already extended his lead by two points this weekend after finishing in P1 in the Sprint race while Lando Norris could only manage a P3.