After a 2021 that saw McLaren return to success with Daniel Ricciardo’s clear victory in Monza, for the Woking team 2022 must represent a continuation of the solid performances seen last year.
Of course, the final part of the season was not to be remembered thanks to some unfortunate episode too many that opened the doors to third place in the Constructors for Ferrari, but it is undeniable that in the last two years McLaren has risen from the ashes.
On the sidelines of the presentation of the MCL36, the ground-effect single-seater that will once again be entrusted to Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, Zak Brown took the floor. The McLaren CEO, as always, was not trivial in his statements and addressed various topics starting from the harsh open letter that shook the world of Formula 1 in January.
Brown did not deny anything of what was written and wanted to underline how some team principals, despite agreeing with his line of thinking, preferred to remain silent and not expose themselves publicly.
“Both Andreas and I spent a lot of time with the people in charge of this sport and we also talked to the representatives of the other teams trying to figure out which is the best direction to take. We got some feedback from the team leaders: some agreed with us, others less. Unfortunately, among those who were on the same line of thought there were those who did not want to expose themselves publicly ”.
“There are also those who do not want to change this situation because they have an advantage that they do not want to lose. We have set out to underline what we believe is more correct for everyone ”.
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: McLaren
The McLaren CEO then underlined the goodness of the introduction of the budget cap. According to Brown, in fact, before this news the financial situation of the teams was really precarious.
“We have to take care of our staff within the sporting rules. We need to be sure that F1 is financially viable. Before the introduction of the budget cap, we saw many people losing their jobs. Today, however, we have 10 solid teams on the grid ”.
While the open letter rocked the world of Formula 1, Brown did not deny that the category is currently experiencing a golden age.
“Formula 1 is definitely entering a new era. Commercially he is healthy and we have a high number of races. We have great television and digital coverage, and the support provided by Netflix has been great too. If we put all these elements together, in addition to the great show on the track, we can understand why Formula 1 is so attractive for the sponsors ”.
The McLaren chief executive did not want to confirm any expansion of the Group’s racing program. Brown, in fact, admitted that he wanted to take the time to understand if entering Formula E or the WEC could represent a profitable investment for the McLaren “galaxy”.
“We haven’t made a final decision yet. At the moment we are focused on our team in Formula 1, on our team in IndyCar with which we won a few races last year and on our team in Extreme E. This is our platform ”.
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: McLaren
“Endurance racing is something that is part of the McLaren brand and it is a context in which we would like to participate. In any case, before making any decision, whether to enter the WEC or Formula E, we must be sure that this decision represents an added value for the entire McLaren context ”.
Before taking his leave of the press, Brown denied any possibility that McLaren could build its own engine in the future, praising Aston Martin’s intentions instead.
“No, we are not currently interested in building an engine on our own. It would be great for the sport if Aston Martin did that, but we are very happy with the Mercedes engine ”.
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: McLaren
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