Max Verstappen says he was baffled by the rumours swirling over the summer on Red Bull’s alleged use of asymmetric braking, and addressed rival Formula 1 teams trying to stir up trouble.

After a dominant start to 2024, Red Bull’s fortunes took a turn for the worse around May’s Miami Grand Prix, when McLaren brought a major upgrade package that revamped its MCL38 into a race-winning car, while Red Bull says it went down a wrong development path with its RB20.

Red Bull initially struggled to respond to its downturn in competitiveness, with its last win now dating back to Verstappen’s triumph in June’s Spanish Grand Prix, and has only just started turning the corner on its car’s handling issues in recent races.

Speculation over the source of Red Bull’s form dip mounted in the summer when the FIA tightened up its regulations around asymmetric braking, effectively closing a loophole for the 2026 regulations and retroactively applying the new phrasing to this year’s rulebook.

The FIA further confirmed the rule change had not been prompted by a current team using a system that the new wording outlawed, but that didn’t stop speculation from suggesting it was Red Bull that had been using a solution that it then had to remove from the RB20.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com, Verstappen reflected on the whole episode, and the flak his world championship-winning team received, with some amusement. “People always come up with different stuff,” he said. “I find it really bizarre how they come up with some of these things, but it is what it is. It’s part of the game, but I usually just let it go.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

“I’ve been in F1 for 10 years now and I’m not wasting time on all those stories. I mean, I barely read anything about F1 anyway. Of course, sometimes I see something or someone else tells me: “Did you see what this and that person said?’ But I always say people can think what they want, I’m not going to waste my energy on that. So, I don’t really care about what other people say.”

Red Bull also caught flak from rival teams over its form dip and its off-track power struggles, which prompted McLaren CEO Zak Brown to say that Red Bull had been “destabilised”. He later described the team as a “pretty toxic” environment.

“People that say all sorts of stuff should just focus on their own team,” Verstappen replied when the subject was brought up. “That’s nothing specifically against Zak Brown, by the way, it applies to everyone. People just need to focus on themselves, and that’s what I’m doing as well.”

The Red Bull – McLaren rivalry has now also ignited on track, with McLaren overtaking Red Bull in the constructors’ championship and Lando Norris challenging Verstappen for the drivers’ title, including a collision between the pair in Austria. But the Dutchman doesn’t think things will get as tense as they were during a fraught 2021 title clash with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes.

“Yes, because right now we still have four teams at the front, while back then you just had the same two people up front,” he explained. “Of course, 2021 was my first world championship, so that was very different already. I think I’m a bit more relaxed about it now.

“Of course, I want to win and of course, I’m going to do my best to defend that [52-point] lead. But the feeling is very different from 2021.”

England: Kildunne; Westcombe-Evans, Rowland, Heard, Breach; Aitchison, Hunt; Botterman, Cokayne, Muir, Aldcroft, Galligan, Feaunati, M Packer (capt), Matthews.

Replacements: Atkin-Davies, Carson, Bern, Ward, Talling, L Packer, Harrison, Scarratt.

Sin-bins: Kildunne (44), Westcombe-Evans (58)

Canada: Schell; Hogan-Rochester, Seumanutafa, Tessier (capt), Farries; Gallagher, Pelletier; Hunt, Tuttosi, Menin, Holtkamp, Royer, Buisa, Forteza, Senft.

Replacements: Cline, Kassil, Ellis, Beukeboom, Omokhuale, Apps, Corrigan, Bermudez.

Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa says his “authority was affected” when Luis Suarez criticised his coaching style.

Suarez, who retired from international football in September, said earlier this month Bielsa had “divided the whole group” and some players were considering quitting.

In an interview with Latin American broadcaster DSports, Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer also asked “the fans not to take it out on the players when things go wrong” because “the players will reach a limit and they will explode” under the Argentine’s working conditions.

“As for how the situation affected me, I don’t ignore what happened, and I know that my authority was affected in some way,” said Bielsa after Saturday’s defeat by Peru.

Uruguay lost 1-0 in the Fifa World Cup qualifier, but remain third in the overall standings, behind Argentina and Colombia, with 15 points from nine games.

“What happened during the week does not condition or explain how we played, nor do I think it has had an effect because it was a week with a lot of effervescence,” added the former Leeds United boss.

“It didn’t alter the conviction with which the match was prepared and the way the group and the coaching staff worked. The preparation was the same as always.”

Suarez had also criticised the treatment of midfielder Agustin Canobbio, who was forced to train as a ball boy and a spare man during the 2024 Copa America, and staff not being allowed to greet or eat with the team.

Bielsa was sacked by Leeds in February 2022 but became known for his intense training sessions and meticulous level of detail during his time at the Elland Road club.

He was appointed Uruguay boss in May 2023 to build a strong team for the 2026 World Cup.

Uruguay face Ecuador next on Tuesday at the Estadio Centenario.

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FRAZER CLARKE will undergo an operation to repair his jaw and cheekbone.

Clarke, 33, suffered a brutal first-round knockout at the hands of Fabio Wardley in the Saudi Arabia rematch last night.

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A huge hit from Wardley crashed into Clarke’s jaw, seemingly putting it out of place, while there was a sizeable dent in the side of his head.

Big Fraze was tended to by medics inside the ring once it was waved off by the referee and he was rushed to hospital.

Frank Warren later confirmed the beaten fighter had suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone, explaining the dent in his head.

And now it has been announced he will have surgery to fix the damage to his face.

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There have been few Scottish players in the past decade who have received as much hype as winger Ben Doak.

So it was encouraging for fans of the national side to have the 18-year-old described as a “standout” by former Scotland defender Willie Miller in the defeat by Croatia on his first start and just second cap.

Playing on the right wing in Zagreb, the diminutive attacker carried the fight to Croatia with his ability to dribble forward at pace.

His driving run at Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol and cross in the first half ended with Ryan Christie scoring, albeit with some help from a poor clearance.

Despite being the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston in 1965, he did not look overawed or cowed.

Doak touched the ball in Croatia’s box more than any other Scotland player and had more productive dribbles as well.

The former Celtic player, who is currently on loan at Middlesbrough from Liverpool, was one of the bright points in another Scotland defeat, their fourth in a row.

“It’s the willingness to take players on, take pressure off your team, and drag your side up the pitch,” former Scotland forward James McFadden said on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound.

“When he gets into the final third, he can’t get it right every time, but he is a threat.

“We mentioned his age and bringing that freshness, you think it’s going to be raw because we’ve not seen a lot of him.

“But he’s making good decisions to hold his position and run in behind and not getting too excited and rushing things.”