Verstappen now McLaren’s worst nightmare: ‘Call me Chucky’

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Max Verstappen says that if McLaren want to call him a horror-movie villain, he’s happy to play the part after snatching yet another win from their grasp at Lusail on Sunday.

The Red Bull charger slashed his championship deficit to Lando Norris just 12 points with victory at the Qatar Grand Prix – a race McLaren should have controlled but instead handed away with a strategy misstep that detonated their Sunday.

And when told that Zak Brown had compared him to the bad guy who “keeps coming back,” Verstappen was quick to accept the role.

‘You can call me Chucky’

In the post-race press conference, Verstappen laughed off Brown’s comments — and even leaned into the metaphor.

“You can call me Chucky,” he laughed, the Dutchman referencing the demonic ‘Child’s Play’ character.

"I don’t know, I mean I saw it [Brown’s comments] as well, I thought it was quite funny.

“From my side I just focus on myself, you know… I know that when I go in the car, I just try to do the best like I guess everyone does. That’s the only thing that I can control, right? And that’s the only thing that I focus on.”

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McLaren had set the stage for another Verstappen ambush by declining to pit Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris under the early safety car caused by Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly.

While almost the entire field ducked into the pits, the two papaya cars stayed out – leaving themselves stranded on the wrong strategy for the rest of the race.

The result was inevitable. Piastri dropped from the lead to second, Norris from third to fourth, and Verstappen swept through to claim a win that McLaren boss Brown later admitted was lost through a “huge mistake.”

Pressure Off, Spirit High

The championship picture now tightens again heading into Abu Dhabi – but Verstappen insists he’s far from tense.

“I'm a lot more relaxed now,” he said. “I know that I'm 12 points down. I go in there with just positive energy, I try everything I can but at the same time if I don't win it, I still know that I had an amazing season.

“So it doesn't really matter. It takes a lot of the pressure off. I'm just out there having a good time like I had today.

“I also started today with 'oh, we'll see how it goes.' I know that when I sit in the car I will always maximise everything I can and that's what I'll try to do also in Abu Dhabi. But at the same time, I also know that we need to rely on probably some external factors to have a go at it.

“But a race like today shows that we think it's going to be boring and straightforward. It's not, so I'm hoping that Abu Dhabi is going to be similar.”

Whether McLaren like it or not, Chucky is coming to Abu Dhabi – and he’s still very much alive in this title fight.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.