McLaren CEO: Strong Possibility Of Lewis Hamilton's Eighth Title In 2024 F1 Season

Zak Brown is open to several scenarios playing out in 2024.

Sharing his insights on the dynamics anticipated for the 2024 season, McLaren CEO Zak Brown expressed that Lewis Hamilton is highly likely to clinch his eighth championship victory this year. He believes that Mercedes has all the necessary components to mount a strong challenge against Red Bull.

With just over a month left until pre-season testing begins, leading Formula 1 teams are fervently engaged in developing cars capable of winning the championship. Last year, Ferrari was the only team besides Red Bull to secure a Grand Prix victory, triumphing in Singapore at the hands of Carlos Sainz.

As for Red Bull, the team dominated last season, winning 21 out of 22 Grands Prix, thanks largely to the aerodynamic excellence of Adrian Newey's RB19 car. Of these races, championship victor Max Verstappen claimed 19 wins, setting several world records in the process.

While Red Bull excelled in mastering the ground effect era of the sport that began in 2022, Mercedes grappled with persistent issues in their car design. The Brackley-based team initially adopted the 'Zeropod' design philosophy in 2022, but had to abandon it in 2023 due to problems like excessive bouncing and unpredictable tire wear.

Inspired by the RB19, rival teams introduced upgrades to their cars last year in an attempt to close the performance gap with the Milton Keynes squad. Currently, they are focused on developing their 2024 contenders, hoping that this season will present an opportunity to surpass Red Bull's pace.

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has expressed his strong commitment to supporting Lewis Hamilton in his quest for an eighth title. With increased competitiveness anticipated this season from teams like Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari, all of whom are intensively working to improve their performance, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has highlighted the potential for Hamilton to achieve his eighth championship victory.

Speaking to Speedcafe about the 2024 season and whether or not McLaren would be able to fight Newey's creation, he said:

“We like what we’re seeing in the wind tunnel and CFD at the moment, so we feel like we’re going to take a step forward.

“How much? The great mystery on Red Bull is when did they turn off the development of their car to focus on next year [2024], and I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey magic comes out of the oven so to speak to see where we are.

“And at the same time Mercedes or Ferrari, these teams have everything they need and are great teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were sitting here and all of a sudden Mercedes was back to Lewis winning his eighth championship.”