McLaren boss eager for 'triple crown'

McLaren boss Zak Brown has admitted that he has the same desire as his driver Fernando Alonso to claim the motorsport 'triple crown' by gaining victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Indianapolis 500 as a team boss.

Alonso has not hidden ambition to secure this accolade as a driver, and Brown is just as eager for similar glory, even if it is as a team boss rather than a driver.

“It’s a massive privilege to work at McLaren, that’s a dream come true. There’s not a team I would want to work for more than McLaren,” Brown said.

“I want to get onto the Formula 1 podium, that’s what I’m excited about.

“Now Fernando has got this whole triple crown thing going, I think it would be cool to do that as a team boss. So maybe I can follow.

“It means I’ve got to win Monaco, as he’s already won Monaco. I just want to keep doing this for a long time. The McLaren brand and racing history is awesome.

“What we did at Indianapolis last year was a dream come true, to do it with Michael Andretti who I grew up watching, to do it with a two-time Formula 1 world champion. It’s pretty easy to show up to work when your task is to try and win the Indianapolis 500 with McLaren and Fernando Alonso and the Andretti family.

“I just want to keep doing exciting stuff like that.”

McLaren have ventured into other motorsport disciplines in the past and actually won the Le Mans 24 Hours back in 1995 as well as a trio of victories in the Indy 500 in the 1970s. Brown wants to enter McLaren in as many motorsports as possible, but insists that Formula One will always be the top priority.

“We’re waiting to see and we’re involved in the new rules that the WEC are working on and collaborating with IMSA. We’re very interested spectators and participants in those meetings,” the McLaren boss continued.

“Le Mans is something that we’ve won before. We’ve got a great automotive business, so we have a reason to promote our brand around the world maybe unlike some other Formula 1 teams. Some other Formula 1 teams do have that same agenda or need.

“Personally I’d like to see us racing in IndyCar in the future. I’d love to see us at sports car racing in the future. We’ve got our eSports team, we’re involved in Formula E, we’re doing the batteries.

“I kind of call it in the galaxy of motorsports, the McLaren solar system, and the biggest planet is always going to be Formula 1. But then you’ve got another planet of eSports, another planet of Formula E.

“Obviously we did Indy, so if we could go back there someday, that would be great, and then sports cars we have history in.

“I think that’s the portfolio of activities which is why I seem to be at a race track all the time working 10 days a week.”