Helmut Marko called out over 'inappropriate' Lando Norris comments at United States GP

has described 's comments about as 'disappointing but not surprising', criticising the Red Bull man for his 'poor taste'.

The Red Bull advisor engaged in some mind games ahead of the United States Grand Prix, calling into question Norris' mental fortitude as he continues to hunt down Max Verstappen at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings.

Speaking to Motorsport-Magazin about his pick for the title, Marko stated: "Verstappen. He is the best, he's the fastest and, above all, he has the mental strength to theoretically fight for the world championship more than and Lando Norris.

"We know Norris has some mental weaknesses. I've read about some of the rituals he needs to do to perform well on race day."

These comments have not gone down well with Racing CEO Brown, who called out the 82-year-old for his provocative words in Austin.

"I read Helmut's comments, which I thought were disappointing but not surprising," he said. "Lando has been kind of an ambassador for mental health. Toto's spoken about mental health.

"So I think it's a serious issue that we've tried to talk about, to bring to the forefront, make it okay to talk about. So to maybe choose poking at that situation, I think is pretty inappropriate and sets us back 10, 20 years.

"But it's all fun games in how some people go racing and what tactics they use from a sporting perspective, but I thought that one was in pretty poor taste."

Norris will have a chance to do his talking on the track this weekend. With a sprint race on the schedule at the Circuit of the Americas, the Brit has a chance to inflict significant damage on Verstappen's championship lead.