Max Verstappen explains hilarious 'Chucky' quip after Zak Brown compared him to a "horror movie" villain

Max Verstappen has explained why he jokingly asked McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown to call him "Chucky" during the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, after the American compared him to a horror movie villain. The Red Bull driver said the nickname was simply something that came to mind in the moment.

While McLaren ultimately crossed the line on Lando Norris’ side of the garage, with the Briton sealing his first world championship, Max Verstappen ensured the Papaya team were made to work far harder than expected in the second half of the 2025 F1 season. His relentless comeback prompted Brown to liken the 4x world champion to a horror film villain who refuses to stay down.

Addressing the comparison in Qatar, Verstappen joked that Brown could call him "Chucky", referencing the infamous character from the Child’s Play movie franchise. The moment later came full circle when Red Bull presented Verstappen with a series of gifts marking key moments from his season, one of which was a "Chucky" doll.

"What is this? Chucky! Oh my god, this is fantastic," Verstappen said upon receiving it.

When asked why he mentioned the nickname in Qatar, Verstappen explained that it was entirely spontaneous.

"I don’t know, these things just pop up in my head. I’m a natural entertainer. This was Qatar, right? Good moment, (I will) put that in my bed, on my pillow" he said.

Zak Brown's comparison was not far off the mark, as Max Verstappen refused to fade away despite appearing out of the title fight midway through the season. He trailed Oscar Piastri by 104 points after the Dutch Grand Prix but mounted a remarkable recovery, finishing ahead of the Aussie star and missing out on the championship to Lando Norris by just two points.

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Max Verstappen takes hilarious dig at McLaren strategy blunder at the Qatar GP

Max Verstappen after the Qatar Grand Prix - Source: Getty

In the aforementioned video, Max Verstappen also took a hilarious dig at McLaren for their strategy blunder at the Qatar GP that gifted him the race win. The 28-year-old was gifted a chessboard to signify Red Bull's sharp strategy in Lusail, but Verstappen quickly turned it into a joke about his rival team.

After being given an explanation about the chessboard and what it meant, Verstappen made a quick joke, saying:

"I'm gonna send this one to McLaren then, one second, hold on. Let's close the box, I'm off. [laughs]"

The Qatar GP was expected to be a two-stop race due to Pirelli’s 25-lap stint limit. A safety car was deployed on lap seven, and most of the field pitted immediately to align their strategy for the 57-lap race perfectly.

However, McLaren, running first and third with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, respectively, stayed out while every other driver stopped, effectively handing the rest of the field a free pit stop over them. Despite strong recovery drives, neither McLaren driver could challenge Max Verstappen, who secured the win. Piastri finished second, while Norris dropped to fourth.

Edited by Mitali