McLaren Formula 1 boss Zak Brown has dropped a bombshell regarding another team’s superstar driver.

Brown has said the door is “wide open” for Max Verstappen to join his team in the future, despite the four-time world champion’s new long-term deal with Red Bull.

Before signing a fresh two-year extension with Red Bull, which takes his contract from 2028 through to 2030, Verstappen held talks with the McLaren CEO as he weighed up his future.

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Despite having Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at his disposal, Brown never completely shut down the possibility of signing Verstappen, although he repeatedly maintained he was happy with his current driver pairing.

Verstappen has a number of clauses in his contract and, while contracted until 2030, could opt out of his deal if Red Bull struggle to compete, leaving the door open for a blockbuster move.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen held talks with McLaren boss Zak Brown before recommitting to Red Bull.Source: AFP

Brown has since spoken with Dutch publication De Telegraaf regarding his discussions with Verstappen and the four-time world champion’s personality.

“I spoke to Max a couple of times last summer. Simply because I wanted to get to know him better,” Brown said.

“If I had to use one word to describe him now, it would be a word that wouldn’t have occurred to me before those conversations.

“Namely: charming. I bet no one who doesn’t know him well would describe him that way. But I’m really impressed by him. A racer through and through.

“His focus and the way he looks at motorsport from a driver’s perspective I found very impressive.

“You can see it in how involved Max is with the GT3 program and how technically proficient he is. Fernando had that too.”

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Brown admitted he would “love to work with” Verstappen one day in the future.

“The talks were more exploratory, to get to know each other better. Because you never know what the future will bring,” Brown said.

“But I came away much more impressed than I had expected, from an individual standpoint. I feel like: I can really go racing with this guy. Because I hate racing against him.

“The door is still wide open for Max. For 2028, 2029, or whatever year. I enjoyed getting to know him better and would love to work with him someday.”

The pressure will now be on Red Bull to produce a car capable of competing at the front as Verstappen chases a fifth F1 World Championship.

Brown’s comments could also keep the pressure on Norris and Piastri to continue performing, with their boss making no secret of his admiration for Verstappen.