Zak Brown has a simple message at McLaren as the title leaders hit F1’s final stretch

AUSTIN — During the FIA Press Conference on Thursday, McLaren driver Lando Norris declared that regardless of how the season ends, it will be a year for himself and McLaren to be proud of.

On Friday his boss echoed that sentiment.

Speaking in the FIA Press Conference on Friday here in Austin, McLaren CEO Zak Brown outlined that whether McLaren wins the F1 Constructors’ Championship or not — and whether Norris can catch Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship or not — 2024 has been an “awesome” year for McLaren.

“An awesome season,” stated Brown when asked how he would view this season when it comes to a close in Abu Dhabi. “We’ve won five races. 14 ... 15 podiums in a row. So regardless of the outcome, because this is a difficult sport and we have awesome competitors, I think regardless of where we finish in either or both championships, you gotta say all the men and women at McLaren have done an outstanding job to put five race wins and the amount of podiums that we’ve had for both drivers together.

“So we’ll definitely look back on this year proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

Brown was asked on multiple occasions about the team’s chances in both of those championships, and he pointed to the talented F1 field as a reason he is always looking in the “rear-view mirror.”

“We’re obviously leading in the Constructors’, so we need to continue to do so. Red Bull is not far behind and I think Ferrari, from judging them this morning, might be the quickest team. So I think, you know, we’re worried about both of them,” outlined Brown.

“Then on the Drivers’ Championship, you know, Max is an awesome racing driver so his bad days tend to be a second or third place. And we’re gonna need Lando to win a lot of races, and Max to have an unusually bad day, worse than a second or third. Because I think if Lando goes and wins everything and Max finishes second in all, I still don’t think you get the job done.

“So, that one’s gonna be a little bit tougher.

“A lot of racing needs to go, and so we just need to keep doing what we can to support [Lando] and hope that we can get one if not both.”

Brown described the mood around McLaren as the team heads into this pivotal closing stretch as “anxious to get back to the racetrack,” but noted that his message to the team is rather simple.

Keep doing what you are doing.

“It’s keep doing what you do, keep doing what you’re doing. It’s working,” said Brown when asked what his message to the team is down the stretch.

“So I think there’s no reason to change what got us to where we are then to do anything different than what we’ve been doing and keep our head down because we recognize how quickly the sport could change,” continued Brown.

At the moment McLaren leads Red Bull by 41 points in the Constructors’ Championship, and Norris trails Verstappen by 52 points in the Drivers’ Championship. But with six Grands Prix remaining, and a trio of F1 Sprint Races as well, neither title is close to being decided.