Zak Brown Adopts Toto Wolff’s Philosophy to Turn McLaren Into a Giant Slayer

The 2024 season has seen McLaren emerge as a serious title contender to dethrone the dominant Red Bull. The upward trajectory of the Woking team could be further bolstered by their CEO, Zak Brown’s approach to racing — something he might have learned from the Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff.

While McLaren have made massive inroads into Red Bull’s lead in the championship, they are still missing the cutting edge to topple them. This has been due to several mistakes that have cost them points. But, Brown is willing to let them go and not burden the team with consequences.

Brown’s philosophy sits akin to the one Wolff has been propagating for a long time at Mercedes. The Silver Arrows boast a no-blame culture within the team. This has led to them winning eight constructors’ titles on the trot from 2014 to 2021.

Per FormulaPassion, Brown said, “Sometimes you understand these things once they’ve been put on the table. So when I look at the mistakes we’ve made, whether it’s the drivers or us, it doesn’t matter; we’re a team, we’re not going to make them again. We’re learning.”

Mistakes have been made on the pit wall as well as in the cockpit for McLaren. The Woking outfit have fumbled its tire strategies, which probably cost them at least two wins. Meanwhile, Lando Norris’ poor race starts in 2024 have been one of the biggest pain points for McLaren and the reason for the #4 driver not adding to his F1 wins tally.

Can McLaren still beat Red Bull in 2024?

As things stand, McLaren are still in contention for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. That being said, there have been instances with Norris that in hindsight can cost the team dearly. The Briton needs to maximize his opportunities at the front when Red Bull and Max Verstappen are struggling.

Brown, however, is not worried. Acknowledging that Norris is in a dogfight with Verstappen for the drivers’ title, he said, “Lando is trying to fight for the world championship. He’s trying. He’s learning, like us. So I’m not worried.”

McLaren sit only 42 points behind the Bulls in the constructors’ standings. With 10 more races to go, the Woking-based team can snatch the crown from Red Bull, if they execute better race strategies. Meanwhile, Brown is also eager to push the entire squad, including Norris, to wrap up the double in 2024.