Coming out of last season, everyone expected McLaren to be good. However, they didn’t expect them to be this good.
McLaren already have 2 race wins this year, one by each driver, and have had consistent podium finishes. This means that in the drivers’ championship, Lando Norris trails Max Verstappen by 78 points, which may not be surmountable, but still leaves room for a good fight. However, the Constructors’ Championship is much closer. Due to Sergio Perez’s recent form and both McLaren drivers’ consistency, McLaren only trails Red Bull by 42 points, a total which can definitely be passed with half of the season remaining.
This may come as a surprise, but not one was as surprised as CEO Zak Brown, who took the time to speak with BBC during the summer break.
“If I were to sit here and say I’m not surprised, that would be disingenuous. Red Bull had such an advantage over everyone and Mercedes has been so dominant. I felt like we’d continue to close the gap. Did I think we would be here at the summer break, one race away from getting the lead?”
“That race would have to be first and second and fastest lap, and do I think it’s going to happen like that? No. But if we keep the same trajectory we’ve been on the last six, seven races, we’ll be where we need to be by the end of the year.”
“I thought we might get where we are now by 2025. I didn’t think we would be where we are now in 2024. But I’m not complaining,” summed up the American.
Brown also shared his take on how the Constructors’ Championship will play out, saying that essentially, Sergio Perez will determine whether McLaren pick up their first constructors’ championship since 1999.
“It’s going to be tough,” Brown says. “I think it’s going to come down to the last race. There’s not much between the cars. It’s gonna come down to how does Sergio Perez perform?
“If he can perform as he’s capable of performing, it’s going to be a hard fight. If he continues to perform as he has this year, we have a pretty good chance, because we have two drivers constantly performing at the front.”
While the wins and podiums have come nearly every race, they’ve also come with mistakes, some growing pains that the team has had to go through. Some that come to mind are pitstops in Silverstone, and Piastri’s team orders in Hungary.
“We’ve all made a variety of errors, which to me are learning experiences. I thought [Mercedes team principal] Toto [Wolff] was accurate with his comment. He said: ‘Well, sometimes you figure these things out once they’ve kind of been put on your plate.’
“So if I look at the mistakes we’ve made – whether those are drivers or us, kinda doesn’t matter; we’re one team – we wouldn’t make these mistakes again. We’re learning. And I think maybe because we have got where we are quicker than we thought, it shows we still have learning to do.”
Brown admits the British Grand Prix was one that got away. “We probably should have finished first and second at Silverstone,” he says.
“And yeah, Lando is trying to fight for a world championship. He’s going for it. He’s learning, as are we. So I’m not concerned about it.”
