Zak Brown believes Charles Leclerc’s penalty strengthens McLaren’s chances of securing the Constructors’ Championship as Ferrari faces a tough weekend.
Brown, McLaren F1’s CEO, spoke after Free Practice 1 in Abu Dhabi, acknowledging that Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty, announced at the end of the session, will certainly be an added advantage for his team.
McLaren holds a 21-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, which nearly forces the Scuderia to achieve a one-two finish this weekend. Starting no higher than 11th on Sunday, the Monegasque driver faces a tough challenge in securing such a result.
“It doesn’t hurt!” Brown commented. “But their car is very fast.”
“Max went from 17th to victory, of course under different circumstances, with the rain in Brazil. We want to win on track, but managing reliability is also part of Formula 1.”
“It’s a big race weekend. The important thing is that we race as we have in the last 23 races, without thinking about this extra help.”
“If we do something different, it would be a mistake. We’ll keep an eye on the red cars during the race, but for now, it’s business as usual.”
Another topic sparking discussion in the paddock is the controversy between Max Verstappen and George Russell. The Dutchman is known for racing hard, and Brown admits his driver, Lando Norris, will need to be at that level in 2025.
“We’ve already seen him race Max very hard. Lando is a different type of character from George.”
“I think he’ll speak on track rather than making comments off it. That’s his nature. I think he’s learning how to race with Max.”
“He raced him hard, knowing there wouldn’t be much room, and avoided incidents. He’ll need to decide how he wants to race Max next year.”
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McLaren Moves Closer to Constructors’ Glory McLaren Moves Closer to Constructors’ Glory
