McLaren CEO Fires Upgrade Warning To Red Bull After Dominant Dutch GP Victory

Saajan Jogia | Aug 25, 2024

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown speaks during a media availability session in day two of NTT IndyCar Series open testing at The Thermal Club in Thermal, Calif., Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. / Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

After McLaren driver Lando Norris dominated the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort by leading the race for the majority of the 72 laps and finishing roughly 20 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen in second, CEO Zak Brown has warned Red Bull about the upcoming race, suggesting there is "some more fun stuff coming for Monza."

Norris drove the MCL38 to a flawless finish after securing pole position on Saturday. On the other hand, his teammate Oscar Piastri fell short of a podium finish by nearly two seconds, losing the third spot to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. However, both drivers managed to shorten the gap to Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship.

Norris and Piastri secured a 12-point lead for McLaren, shortening the 42-point gap to Red Bull in the lead, to just 30 points after the Dutch Grand Prix. If the same trend continues, McLaren would overtake Red Bull after three Grands Prix.

However, it is to be noted that despite Red Bull struggling with the setup on its RB20, Verstappen still gave a strong fight in the first half of the race until Norris extended his lead. Sergio Perez, on the other hand, finished sixth after engaging in a close battle with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, eventually trailing the Spaniard by 7 seconds at the finish line.

McLaren stands out as one of the few teams that successfully introduced performance-enhancing upgrades to its title-contending car, as evidenced by its strong showing in Zandvoort, where even minor adjustments yielded impressive results. In contrast, Red Bull and Ferrari continue to grapple with persistent setup challenges. However, Brown asked his team to remain grounded after the victory, while teasing Red Bull that more improvements are coming next weekend. He told Sky Sports F1:

"The update worked but we need to keep our feet on the ground with how competitive Formula 1 is. We can't assume that will be a repeat every weekend but I hope we do it a few more times. We're getting closer. We've got a long way to go. It's very exciting. We have a fast car.

"We have some more fun stuff coming for Monza. It's a different type of track with high downforce. The Red Bull was fast in the quick stuff."

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella aims to maximize performance for all race weekends with hopes of continuing the "strong trend" of "fighting Red Bull." He told the media:

"Let's see if it's enough to be the best car at every venue with the upgrades. We keep going. There is not much we can do other than maximizing every single event and adding performance to the car. I think we are in a strong trend. We should believe in it. We are determined and give our best. But we are fighting Red Bull who have been dominant."