In 2020, McLaren F1 faced financial ruin, jeopardizing its future. Zak Brown recounts the dramatic fight to save the iconic team.
The team that won the Constructors’ Championship in 2024, McLaren F1, came dangerously close to bankruptcy in 2020—a dramatic and astonishing journey for the orange team over the past four years.
Indeed, after parting ways with Honda, accumulating debt, and losing significant revenue due to the Covid pandemic, McLaren F1 found itself in an almost hopeless situation in 2020.
The savior had to arrive: a savior named Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund and owner of the McLaren Group. Then another followed: the American firm MSP Capital (with a £185 million investment, increasing its stake to 15% and later 33% by 2022).
But the episode left scars. During this time, McLaren F1 was also forced to sell its Woking headquarters, which it still rents today.
Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, inherited a team on the brink of collapse in 2021—and turned it into the most “bankable” team just four years later.
Reflecting on 2024, he also looks back to 2020 to appreciate the journey.
“We were definitely on the edge of the cliff,” Zak Brown recalled.
“We were paying all our bills. But we were just months—not many months—away from… We knew we could finish the year, but we were in a situation where, without a cash injection, we risked not being able to start the 2021 season.”
“I was always confident the shareholders would never let it get to that point. But it was equally clear that we needed that investment.”
“I could rest my head on the pillow at night knowing they [the shareholders] would back us if necessary. But it would have been at the last moment, to use a baseball analogy, just before calling in the relief pitcher.”
In 2020, McLaren F1 came dangerously close to disappearing, taking the McLaren Group with it. Talks about the potential insolvency of the parent company were underway. McLaren Group even considered selling its majority stake in McLaren Racing to stay afloat, Zak Brown recalls.
“In the end, we were fighting for our survival.”
“Without MSP’s investment, we might not be here today…”
“Now, we’re in an extremely healthy position. We just bought an IndyCar team and launched an Extreme E team.”
“It was pretty serious…” he also reflected in earlier statements.
“We were in a situation where the racing team was performing, but I was acutely aware of the financial challenges at the group level, which were impacting Racing.”
“Even though our results on the grid were strong, I, along with my leadership team and the shareholders, knew just how fragile we were.”
“Trying to balance going full throttle while fighting for survival at the same time, without the world knowing—though the media was catching on and the situation was closing in—was an incredibly stressful period.”
“Now that we’ve come through it, it’s deeply rewarding and motivating, and it has made the team stronger because I think everyone now has a renewed sense of confidence, in a way, and a boost of energy knowing that we could survive such a challenge.”
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
Zak Brown kept all this information under wraps to avoid alarming the team, observers, and other investors.
“I didn’t want the race team to lose focus or momentum over something beyond their control.”
A crisis now resolved?
Has the crisis been left behind at McLaren F1, or even at the top of the world, is the team still paying the price in terms of underinvestment, for instance?
“We’ve regained the level of resources McLaren was known for.”
“We are now one of the Big Four financially [alongside Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull]. When I started, it drove me crazy—everyone kept talking about the Big Three, the Big Three, the Big Three.”
“And I thought, the McLaren I grew up with was the big one! It was either us or Ferrari.”
“I can confidently say that, while we still have ground to make up in terms of technology, there are no resources the other three have that we don’t.”
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Brown confirms that McLaren F1 was ‘fighting for survival’ in 2020 Brown confirms that McLaren F1 was ‘fighting for survival’ in 2020
