McLaren CEO Picks Apart Red Bull 'Moral Culture' Amid Increased Scrutiny - 'Poison'

McLaren CEO Zak Brown criticizes Red Bull's internal culture amidst McLaren's resurgence in the Constructors' Championship.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown talks with Tony Kanaan on Friday, May 24, 2024, during Carb Day ahead of the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. / Kristin Enzor / USA TODAY NETWORK

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has openly criticized Red Bull's internal culture after a renewed scrutiny of McLaren’s car design and operation details, including demands to modify their rear wing ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix following complaints from rivals such as the Austrian team and Ferrari.

The situation at Red Bull is a far cry from their dominant early season performance. The team has not won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June. Additionally, internal turmoil has emerged, including a misconduct investigation involving team boss Christian Horner, reported contrasting opinions between Horner and motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, and rumors of Max Verstappen contemplating a move to Mercedes or Aston Martin due to reported conflicts between his father and Horner.

Team dynamics are further strained by the impending departures of pivotal staff members like design legend Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber.

Speaking to Autosport during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, Brown commented:

"Andrea's got a great phrase: 'Don't eat the poison biscuit'. Everyone now is like 'flexi-wing this and that' and I have to insulate the team to the best of my ability from the incoming [scrutiny].

"I know people are going to stir it and I have to protect the team, because if you look at one team in particular, where there's lots of 'poison' and lots of incoming, look what's happening.

"That is an unbelievably great team that, at the moment, is going in the wrong direction because of culture. Their wind tunnel is not any different than what it was a year ago. I think that is a moral culture. People are leaving, [there is] lots of noise, look at the top, one team principal makes a statement, then Helmut [Marko] makes [a different one].

"Drivers aren't happy -- driver's dads ... but it is same factory and with a huge budget. So like, what's changed? The culture of the people."

This strong stance by Brown comes amid a backdrop of McLaren’s notable uplift. The 2024 season so far has seen both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri celebrate maiden F1 wins in Miami and Hungary, respectively. Beyond that, the Woking-based squad has also celebrated victories in the Netherlands and Azerbaijan, the latter of which put the team at the top of the Constructors' Standings.

"I'm still scarred, and hopefully permanently scarred, from the start of 2023. There's two types of people in this world, those that are motivated by the thrill of victory and those that are motivated by the fear of defeat. I'm motivated by the fear of defeat, which gets me out of bed every day.

"It's probably the unhealthier, yes, more stressful and probably explains why I had ulcers a year and a half ago! "But I'm never relaxed, I'm never comfortable, and I think being uncomfortable is a good thing. Managing it is important but I don't feel like I'm ever going to take my foot off the throttle, because if you pan out far enough you can see trouble ahead."