F1 News: Zak Brown Optimistic For Saudi Arabian GP - "Played Out As We Thought"

The McLaren CEO looks forward to the qualifying session and the Grand Prix in Jeddah.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown revealed that the team's performance during Free Practice 2 "played out" as predicted, with drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing P10 and P12, respectively. 

Key Takeaways:

• McLaren CEO Zak Brown discusses the team's performance during free practice 2, with drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing P10 and P12, respectively, in line with predictions.
• Brown anticipates Red Bull's dominance on the grid, placing McLaren in contention with teams like Aston Martin and Mercedes. He notes that McLaren's lap times may not accurately reflect their potential performance in qualifying and the race.
• Brown expects McLaren to fare better in Saudi Arabia when compared to Bahrain, where they finished within points in P6 and P8. He predicts a grid similar to Bahrain's but hopes for improved competitiveness and qualifying performance.

Brown also emphasized his expectation of Red Bull's dominance on the grid, placing McLaren in contention with teams such as Aston Martin and Mercedes. He also revealed that his team's lap times cannot be taken at face value since he expects the MCL38s to perform better in qualifying and race.

Thus, with an expectation of performing better in Saudi Arabia than in Bahrain, where McLaren finished within points in P6 and P8, Brown told Sky Sports F1:

"Bahrain is kind of where we had it pegged with Red Bull up the way, Ferrari ahead but then Mercedes and Aston Martin close. That played out as we thought.

"This weekend it looks like Red Bull has everyone covered but maybe not by the same gap.

"We feel pretty competitive, we were working on a variety of programmes, so I don't think the lap times are representative of where we will be come qualifying."

He added:

"I think the grid will probably look fairly similar to Bahrain. I’d like to think we might be a little bit more competitive.

"I think we were a little bit more competitive (than we showed) in Bahrain but we didn’t quite get our qualifying laps together.

"Here I feel like we’re maybe a little bit closer to the front than we were in Bahrain. But I hope I don’t eat my words now that I’ve made a little bit of a prediction."

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