In recent years, Red Bull has been the ultimate dominant force in the Formula One paddock, consistently claiming the spotlight and numerous victories. While their supremacy, which once appeared insurmountable, has been challenged, several teams have now found the courage to challenge their dominance with fresh strategies.
Zak Brown, the team boss of McLaren, has suggested that not only his team but also Mercedes has an opportunity to shake things up this year and potentially disrupt Red Bull’s era.
Zak Brown comments on Lewis Hamilton move
Surprisingly, speaking in an interview recently, Zak Brown conveyed that he already knew Hamilton was plotting a major move in his racing career. Therefore, even though, they had wanted the British driver to race as their main driver again, the team principal did not waste any time and signed a contract with the existing star of the team, Lando Norris.
Zak Brown when asked if he was aware of Lewis Hamiltons’ move to #Ferrari 👀
— The McLaren Zone 🟠 (@TheMcLarenZone) February 14, 2024
“We were aware that there was some potentially some movement but that didn’t really have anything to do with Lando, we’d signed him up previously.”
[via: @SkySportsF1]#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren
He said, “We’d signed him up previously. We were just waiting for him to get back (from the winter break) to actually make the announcement.
“It was less about knowing specifically what was going on with Lewis and Ferrari and Mercedes as much as knowing Lando’s top of everybody’s list, ours’ included.”
Nonetheless, the fact that Brown already had a hint of the unfolding situation in the future, shows his skills and expertise as a capable team leader.
McLaren director reveals one deciding condition for Lewis Hamilton’s championship bid
For the upcoming season, Zak Brown believes he can end Red Bull’s dominance with the assistance of his team and star drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The team has already shown their new car before the launch date, with each team member positively expressing hopefulness ahead of the upcoming season.
Prior to their official car release, Brown has profusely engaged in a conversation with Speedcafe, discussing the future revelations of this year’s performance along with McLaren’s updates. When asked about their development, Brown said, “We like what we’re seeing in the wind tunnel and CFD at the moment. So we feel like we’re going to take a step forward.”
🗣️ Zak Brown: “Landos at the top of everybody’s list, including ours, and we had a really strong second half of the year and I think Landos got the same confidence we do, so it was great to get him signed up.” 🧡
— The McLaren Zone 🟠 (@TheMcLarenZone) February 14, 2024
[via: @SkySportsF1]#F1 #Formula1 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/2cMjrrsbQI
Afterwards, while elaborating on their condition, the team principal also compared Red Bull by saying, “How much? The great mystery at Red Bull is, When did they turn off the development of their [2023] car?”
Furthermore, highlighting Red Bull’s strength, Brown continued to say “I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey magic comes out of the oven, so to speak. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were sitting here and all of a sudden Mercedes was back to Lewis [Hamilton] winning a championship.”
Who do you think is more likely to surpass Red Bull this year? Let us know in the comment section below.
