McLaren CEO Opens Up About Rare Relationship With Ferrari

Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 Team CEO Zak Brown before the start of the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 Team CEO Zak Brown before the start of the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has opened up about a relationship he and his team share with Ferrari, which is a rare find in Formula 1, while reflecting on their intense championship battle that came down to the final lap of the Abu Dhabi season finale last year. Brown described the evening as highly stressful but expressed admiration for Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur and driver Charles Leclerc, standing out in a sport often defined by heated rivalries.

The 2024 season saw McLaren's resurgence in the premier class of motorsport, as it surpassed Red Bull to win its first Constructors' Championship since 1998. While Red Bull's balance problems on its RB21 F1 car also contributed to McLaren's advantage, a season-ending fight with Ferrari wasn't on the cards until the last few races of the season, when Ferrari leaped forward with all its might.

While Ferrari fell short of surpassing the Papaya outfit by just 14 points, Brown explained the pressure he experienced during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and revealed the unique relationship with Ferrari that showcases the "great side of the sport." He told CNBC, as quoted by Planet F1:

“We were the slowest team. To have that type of turnaround was awesome.

“It was much more fun being the hunter, and then we were the hunted the second half of the season, so you do get into a bit of a… you’d be ashamed to have gone through all this, lead the championship and then lose it at the last race.

“I’m as motivated by the fear of defeat as I am the motivated by the thrill of victory so it was very stressful.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of the mechanics doing the pit stop. I mean, the pressure that they would have been under you – about 16, 18 people in a pit stop – and you’re only as quick as your slowest person in that situation.

“And so to have them all lean in and do the fastest pit stop of the race was a great story.

“Ferrari, if there’s one team you want to go down to the wire with – the most iconic team in Formula 1 with the long history between Ferrari and McLaren. I like racing Ferrari. I like Charles Leclerc, I like Fred who runs the team.”

Brown then shared insights into Lando Norris' Miami GP victory celebrations, revealing how Vasseur playfully photobombed McLaren's festivities and how McLaren, in turn, reciprocated the humor during Ferrari's race victories. He added:

“That’s what was nice, we kind of got into… Fred when Lando won in Miami kind of jumped in on our celebration. And that kind of triggered a moment where we’ve jumped in on each other’s celebration over the course of the season.

“I think that’s the great side of sport. I wouldn’t say we do that with all of our competitors. We have various relationships in the pit lane. But so it was great that we were able to do it in such a sporting manner, and hopefully we can do it again this year.”


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