McLaren boss: Comparison to Red Bull is 'natural'

McLaren chief Zak Brown thinks that Red Bull will be the benchmark which his team want to meet this season, and admits that any comparison to the team of the energy drinks manufacturer will be 'natural' as they are both currently using the same Renault power unit.

Today, McLaren revealed their new papaya orange livery as a throwback to past glory years, and Fernando Alonso finally managed to test the new vehicle out behind the wheel for a short period.

The new design features a Renault engine which is believed to be a significant upgrade on the Honda unit used for the past three years which was hounded by reliability issues. Another customer of Renault is Red Bull, and Brown reckons their will be 'natural comparisons' between the two teams due to this.

“They are an unbelievable team, won four World Championships not that long ago so that is going to be the natural comparision,” Brown told Sky Sports F1 about Red Bull.

“It eliminates the power unit and goes down to team and chassis and driver.

“We are looking forward to racing them and the rest of the field.”

McLaren have not won the world championship for 20 years, and have saw their reputation decrease over the past three years in particular due to their issues with Honda. Brown has revealed that the team wanted to appease fans with their new orange design, whilst also insisting that they wanted to earn respect back in the sport.

“Our return to a papaya orange livery for this year wasn’t simply an emotional decision; it demonstrates that we are listening to our fans, building deeper engagement with them and the Formula 1 community as a whole," Brown continued.

"We want McLaren to earn respect on and off the track, and this felt like a good starting point. We want to show everyone what makes this team special, whether that’s our fans or our partners – there’s room for more on our journey.“