McLaren remains cautious, with Zak Brown emphasizing the challenges ahead despite a strong lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown stated he would like to “punch in the nose” anyone suggesting the team has already secured the 2024 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship title.
The Woking-based team is on course to end a Constructors’ Championship drought dating back to 1998, holding a 36-point lead over Ferrari with three rounds remaining.
McLaren managed to fend off Ferrari’s recent resurgence during the previous race in Brazil, despite Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing sixth and eighth. And in Las Vegas, Mercedes F1 appears poised to deny the Scuderia crucial points.
However, while McLaren holds the points advantage, Brown warned that the team cannot afford to become complacent as it strives to outpace Ferrari and Red Bull for the crown.
“I feel good about where we are. It’s very stressful because we’re in a position to win a title. I’ve never experienced this before. We haven’t been in this position for the Constructors’ Championship since 1998.”
“But a 36-point lead can evaporate in a single race weekend, and Ferrari could easily finish first or second. Anything can happen in a street race, as we saw in Brazil.”
“So, for those who came to me with the obvious conclusion that we’ve already won the championship, I feel like punching them in the nose. You can say that for Max Verstappen because he’s a hair’s breadth away from his title. But not for us.”
“I think many people have asked what we’re doing differently now, and we don’t want to do anything differently.”
“We want to stick to exactly what got us here. Take it one race at a time, stay grounded, and I think we’ve seen that approach since the start of the year.”
“Max won five or six races in a row, and I think almost everyone, myself included, thought, ‘Oh, this championship is over,’ and here we are.”
“I think it shows just how quickly things can change. So, believing you’ve achieved something before actually sealing it is a serious mistake.”
“I’m pleased with where we are right now, but we’re very focused and won’t celebrate until, hopefully, we’ve earned the right to celebrate.”
McLaren’s current outlook is a stark contrast to the team Brown joined in 2016, when it was languishing in the midfield with minimal sponsorship onboard.
The American praised the entire group for their efforts in turning McLaren around, taking it from the bottom to the top in just 18 months.
When asked about McLaren’s progress, Brown said: “It’s very stressful. I’m very pleased with McLaren’s current position.”
“The men and women of McLaren have done an outstanding job in every aspect of the racing team, haven’t they?”
“I’d simply say we’ve developed a very good race car, like Laura, who runs our finance department and helps make it all possible.”
“With the cost cap, you have to spend very efficiently, and we’ve achieved excellent returns on how we allocate our resources.”
“Daniel Gallo leads our human resources. We’ve built a fantastic culture. We take care of our employees. We take care of our employees’ families. We invest a lot of energy into that.”
“This is the first time we’ve competed in 24 races. It’s challenging not only for the race team, but it’s easy to overlook that it’s actually harder for the families, partners, and children left at home missing their mothers or fathers traveling around the world. Even if you’re not traveling, there’s the factory—working seven days a week, putting in very, very long hours.”
“So, our commercial departments, which handle our branding and manage partnerships while creating new ones, are just as essential.”
“We have over 100 partners for our race car, more than any other racing team in the world.”
“We have an incredible fan base, our communications team, and every department, in a way, contributes to the performance of our race car. You don’t have great aerodynamics without a good wind tunnel, and you don’t have a good wind tunnel without excellent partners from the commercial department enabling that progress.”
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McLaren Stays Grounded Despite Lead in Constructors’ Fight McLaren Stays Grounded Despite Lead in Constructors’ Fight McLaren Stays Grounded Despite Lead in Constructors’ Fight
