According to Zak Brown, Lando Norris and McLaren will not rest on their laurels after their victory in Melbourne. With many races still ahead, and Max Verstappen having proven last year that fortunes can change after a strong start to the season, the American CEO of McLaren congratulates Norris on his win but assures that the team still has much to do before they can truly speak of a title hunt.
After the Australian Grand Prix, Zak Brown joined Lando Norris, who had already dedicated his victory to the strategists at McLaren. When the heavens opened in the final few laps of the race, the team immediately responded with a tire change, allowing Norris to retake the lead during the last safety car. “It was an incredible performance,” Brown said of the collaboration between Norris and the team.
‘We Saw That with Verstappen Too’
“The team applied the perfect strategy under very difficult conditions.” At the same time, Zak Brown also showed empathy for Oscar Piastri, who had to settle for ninth place in his home race. “I feel terrible for him,” said the CEO. “They both ended up in the rain at the same time, but only Norris managed to keep the car on the track. That being said, the team did a fantastic job – everyone at McLaren contributed to a highly competitive race car.”Despite this initial victory, Zak Brown doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. No matter how fast the MCL39 looks, given the title fight in the previous season, he doesn’t want to get carried away. “Of course, things look good for us, but this is one circuit, one race,” he explained. “We’ll see what happens in China – we’ve certainly started the season strong. We saw last year that Max Verstappen won the first few races, but then went through a dry spell. That’s why we just need to focus on what we’re doing. We know how quickly this sport can change, so we need to keep developing ourselves.”
