McLaren F1 boss hits out at 'EMBARRASSING' rival team principal conduct

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McLaren boss hits out at 'EMBARRASSING' rival team principal conduct

Toto Wolff and Chistian Horner aren't the only pair to have tension in the meetings

Rhys Thomas

Friday 12 July 2024 19:57

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has aired his frustrations with his team principal counterparts, citing what he feels is 'pretty embarrassing' behaviour.

The 52-year-old has been at the helm of the papaya team since 2018, and has spearheaded the outfit's upwards trajectory since their ill-fated engine partnership with Honda.

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McLaren finished fourth with nine podiums in 2023 after a mighty turnaround following a dire start to the campaign.

This season has seen Lando Norris take his maiden F1 win and McLaren sit third, seven points off Ferrari, though have rued several missed opportunities to add to that Miami victory.

Zak Brown has overseen a resurgence at McLaren since 2018

Zak Brown and McLaren took victory with Lando Norris in Miami

Brown hits out at team principal hypocrisy

Team principals have received more of the spotlight with the advent of the Drive to Survive series, with the likes of ex-Haas leader Guenther Steiner gaining celebrity status.

Toto Wolff and Christian Horner's spats have been well-documented, including the Red Bull boss telling the Austrian, "You’ve got a problem, change your f***ing car."

Brown has also not been shy of confrontation, and told media at the British Grand Prix: "It can be pretty embarrassing at times in the team principal meetings."

Despite leaving Alpine in 2023, Otmar Szafnauer has been caught Brown's line of fire once more.

Expanding on his initial claim, Brown said: “An example being when Lando was up on penalty points two years ago, and we made our case that, actually, the majority of those penalty points weren’t ‘dangerous’ and Otmar was totally against it because obviously everyone wanted to give Lando a ban.

“Fast-forward 12 months, [Pierre] Gasly’s up against it, Otmar brings forward the same exact case that we brought forward and we were like ‘dude, you voted against that?’

"He didn’t even know where he voted. And that’s not healthy, because it shows that one year it might work for you, the following year it might not work for you."

The hypocrisy perceived by Brown is something he would like to see stamped out in future seasons.

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer was criticised by Zak Brown

"To take this kind of ‘what’s good for me today’ vote out of the system, I think you’ve just got to stand back and let the FIA and Formula One regulate for the fairness of the sport," he explained.

“Which means you’re going to win some, lose some. There could be some times that we lose in the short-term because we would have liked to block something.

"I believe McLaren want to race in a fair and sporting and equitable way, which means sometimes it might go for you, sometimes it might go against you.

“But over the long haul, if we’re all in a sport that is about total fairness, and things are equal for everyone, I think that’s just a better sport; we all win."

Whether Brown's advocations are taken into consideration remains to be seen; for the time being, it is likely the team principals will continue to probe and provoke one another.

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari McLaren Lando Norris Zak Brown