Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, has had enough of the constant criticism and scrutiny over the team’s decisions in recent weeks. He admits that the British racing team hasn’t always made the right choices, but emphasizes that managing a Formula 1 team is far more complex than some people might think.
Controversy Over McLaren’s Team Orders
There has been a lot of debate in recent weeks about McLaren’s team orders and the so-called ‘papaya rules’. It’s now clear that the team is willing to support Lando Norris in his bid for the championship title, but they don’t want to negatively impact the performance of Oscar Piastri. This was painfully evident during the Hungarian Grand Prix when Norris allowed his teammate to pass him – Piastri was, after all, entitled to the win. As a result, Norris finished second and missed out on seven crucial championship points.
McLaren’s Response to Criticism
McLaren faced a significant amount of criticism, both from fans and experts. Zak Brown, the team’s CEO, explains that fans at home may not understand that team orders are not given lightly. “It’s easy to talk when you’re sitting at home with a beer,” Brown said. “Then everyone can run a Formula 1 team. Hundreds of millions of people do that every weekend.”
“But there’s so much more to it than what you see at first glance,” the American continued. “All of that influences the decisions we make. Sometimes you make mistakes; of course, there are things we could have done better this season. But it’s never as simple as some people make it out to be.”
Adrian Newey’s Influence
Brown is happy to be influenced by Adrian Newey in this regard. The master designer recently taught the McLaren CEO a valuable lesson. “I spoke to Newey recently,” Brown said. “‘Monday is a new day’ is his great motto. I can’t change the past either. We’ve learned from it and know how we would do things differently in the future. But dwelling on it is wasted energy.”
McLaren has now built a comfortable lead in the constructors’ championship. The team is forty-one points ahead of Red Bull. Among the drivers, Lando Norris still needs to make up fifty-two points on rival Max Verstappen.
