Zak Brown reveals why top F1 stars are joining McLaren - 'No toxic cookies and no politics'

Lambiase, Brown, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

'No toxic cookies and no politics' - Zak Brown on why top F1 stars are joining McLaren

A veiled dig at Red Bull?

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Wednesday 30 September 2026 08:14

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McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown is making a habit of poaching the sport's very best talent, and now he has revealed how.

Earlier this year, Brown and the papaya squad announced their latest enormous coup with Red Bull star Gianpiero Lambiase joining them not later than 2028 as their Head of Racing.

Lambiase - long-time race engineer to four-time world champion Max Verstappen - is not the first big name to leave Red Bull for McLaren either. He followed in the footsteps of the likes of design chief Rob Marshall and sporting director Will Courtenay.

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That trio of departures was just part of an enormous talent drain at Red Bull with the team losing a string of major names which also included the likes of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko. But they did not have to choose Woking for their next destination.

Brown was asked about why the sport's top talent is now so often choosing McLaren for their next job, and what he said was absolutely fascinating.

Why are top F1 stars jumping ship to join McLaren?

Speaking in an interview with highly respected Dutch outlet De Telegraaf, he explained: “I think someone can demonstrably progress within our organisation, and they also appreciate our culture.

"From the outside, people can see that we work together in harmony, and that it’s genuine.

"The team is stable, partly thanks to our owners in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi."

Not a dig at Red Bull, honestly

What Brown said next could easily be seen as a dig at other teams (in particular Red Bull) - Brown was at pains to claim it was not. “As Andrea Stella [McLaren team principal] would say: no toxic cookies and no politics.

"I don’t know what it’s like at other teams; I simply don’t have enough insight into that. But our employees really are at the centre of everything we do.

"There’s no drama and we have the right people on board.

"That automatically makes it more attractive for outsiders to want to come here as well.”

Brown leaves door ajar for Verstappen move

While the capture of Lambiase was huge for McLaren, Brown almost pulled off the biggest signing of all from Red Bull earlier this summer - Verstappen himself.

The Dutchman held talks with Brown about a potential move, but eventually decided to stay put and sign a landmark extension through 2030 which is worth a reported $100million per season.

Brown and Verstappen held talks about a potential move.

If Red Bull think that is the end of the story though they may need to think again, with Brown leaving the door very much ajar for a future move:

“The door is still wide open for Max. For 2028, 2029, or whatever year it may be. I enjoyed getting to know him better and I would love to work with him someday."

F1 McLaren Zak Brown