Zak Brown reshaped McLaren’s culture, tackling an ingrained mindset that frustrated him upon his arrival at the team.
Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO, revealed that a “very particular” mindset within the team did not sit well with him when he arrived in Woking.
McLaren has returned to the top of Formula 1, securing its first Constructors’ Championship title since 1998. The journey back to the summit has been a long one for McLaren, whose legacy and prestige mattered little as the team began its decline in the early 2010s.
After 2014, the disastrous switch to Honda saw McLaren drop to the back of the grid, with the rebuilding process starting in earnest when Zak Brown joined in 2016 before taking over as CEO in 2018.
“The guys have done an incredible job since I arrived,” he said when asked if he was proud of how McLaren turned things around to withstand the pressure from Red Bull and Ferrari in 2024.
“When I started at McLaren, I remember one of the things that drove me crazy was the team saying: ‘Yeah, the big three,’ ‘the top three,’ and ‘the three top teams.’ We weren’t part of that conversation. I thought: ‘We’re McLaren, we’re not in a good position right now, but no, we are among the big four. We’re part of it. We’re just underperforming.’”
“It was a very particular mindset that had taken hold, and it needed to change immediately to get us back on track. We were still a top team, but a top team that had lost its way.”
With confidence returning to McLaren, Brown stated that this mindset is now a distant memory.
“Now, all the men and women at McLaren, who have done such an excellent job, are proud. We refer to the others as the ‘three other best.’ It’s great to have McLaren in the mix every weekend, with people watching where we stand on the timesheets. That’s how it should be.”
“Obviously, every team experiences highs and lows—McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes—but it’s fantastic to be back, and congratulations to everyone at McLaren for bringing us to this position.”
- Discover More>F1’s Controversial Finale: Wolff Slams Rule-Breaking Decision
- Follow us on >Facebook and >Twitter for F1 updates
Brown’s Push to Revive McLaren’s Winning Culture Brown’s Push to Revive McLaren’s Winning Culture
