McLaren boss Zak Brown has dismissed suggestions that his team has already wrapped up F1’s 2024 Constructors' Championship, insisting his crews are keeping their feet on the ground and taking their mission “one session at a time”.
With a commanding 36-point lead over Ferrari and only three races left in the 2024 Formula 1 season, McLaren finds itself closer than ever to ending its 26-year drought in the Constructors’ Championship.
While team papaya’s resurgence this year has been remarkable, Brown is wary of complacency, especially given the unpredictable nature of Formula 1.
“I feel great where we are,” Brown said, quoted by Motorsport Week at an event in Las Vegas to launch McLaren’s new partnership with Mastercard.
“It’s high stress because we have, I have never been here. We’ve not been here since 1998.
“Thirty-six points in the lead can evaporate into one race weekend and you’ve got Ferrari who could easily finish first and second, anything can happen in a street race as we saw in Brazil.
“So for those people that have come up to me with a foregone conclusion we’ve already won the championship, I kind of want to punch him in the nose!”
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Brown referenced the dominant start to the season by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as a cautionary tale. Verstappen’s early streak led many to declare the championship over, yet the tables turned.
“I think that shows how quickly things can change,” he said. “The minute you think you’ve done it before you’re in the end zone is a big mistake to make.”
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The McLaren boss emphasized the importance of maintaining the team's current approach.
“A lot of people have asked what are we doing differently now, and we don’t want to do anything differently,” he explained.
“We want to do exactly what got us to where we are. Take it one session at a time, feet on the ground.”
McLaren’s ascent to the top of the Constructors’ standings is a testament to the collective effort of the team, from its engineers and mechanics to its commercial and HR departments.
Brown credited the organization’s culture and efficiency under the cost cap for enabling this success.
“I think the men and women at McLaren have done an awesome job in every aspect of the racing team,” he said.
“We’ve developed a very good race car. Laura, who leads our finance department, has ensured we spend very efficiently under the cost cap, giving us great ROI on where we deploy our resources.”
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The American also highlighted the importance of human resources and team culture, led by Daniel Gallo.
“We’ve got a fantastic culture. We’re looking after our people, we’re looking after our people’s families. It’s hard not only on the racing team but also on the family, the partners, the kids that are sitting at home missing their mum or dad.”
This holistic approach has enabled McLaren to maximize its resources and build a car capable of competing at the highest level.
“Every single department puts performance on our race car,” Brown added.
“You don’t have great aero if you don’t have a great wind tunnel. You don’t have a great wind tunnel if you don’t have great partners from the commercial department that’s allowing you to go ahead in the wind tunnel, etc.”
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As McLaren inches closer to the Constructors’ Championship, Brown’s words reflect both the pride in how far the team has come and the determination to cross the finish line without faltering.
“We’re not going to celebrate prematurely. This team has worked too hard for that,” he concluded.
Whether McLaren can hold off Ferrari and Red Bull remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Zak Brown and his team are taking nothing for granted.
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