McLaren’s Zak Brown warns of toxic Red Bull culture

Leading Formula 1 team boss attacks main rival

Singapore – CEO McLaren, Zac BrownHe wants to prevent his team from falling victim to a “toxic” internal culture like the one that, he says, has affected his rivals. Red Bull This season.

McLaren Take the lead in the manufacturers’ championship in Azerbaijan Grand Prix For the first time since 2014; he has not won this tournament since 1998.

As often happens with leading teams, the design of the car McLaren It faced increasing scrutiny from rivals and was asked to modify the controversial rear wing design before Singapore Grand Prix Sunday.

Red Bullwithout a race win since then. Spanish Grand Prix June Despite a dominant start to the year, Ferrari Complaints have been raised.

off track, Red Bull He faced turmoil: The year began with an investigation into sexual misconduct by the team’s captain, Christian HornerThe sources said. Espen There is an ongoing internal power struggle between Horner and the career counselor. Helmut MarkoWhile Horner is known to have had a falling out with his father, Max VerstappenJos, which has led to reports that the world champion is looking to force a move to him. Mercedes also Aston Martin By 2026.

Now that McLaren It has been replaced. Red Bull At the head of the group, Brown called up the team captain. McLaren, Andrea StellaThis is done by highlighting the importance of not falling into a similar situation.

“Andrea has a great saying: Don’t eat the poisoned cake,” Brown said. Motorsports“Everyone is now showing off this and that, and I have to isolate the team as much as possible from the others. [escrutinio] Incoming

“I know people will bring it up and I have to protect the team, because if you look at a team in particular, where there is a lot of ‘toxicity’ and a lot of interference, look at what happens.”

“They’re an incredibly good team and they’re going in the wrong direction now because of the culture. Their wind tunnel is no different than it was a year ago. I think it’s about the moral culture. People are going, [hay] Lots of noise, senior officers look on, team manager makes statement, then Helmut [Marko] last [una diferente]”

“The drivers are not happy, the parents of the drivers… but it is the same factory with a huge budget. So what has changed? The culture of the people.”

The departures referred to by Brown represent two key parts of the recent success achieved by Red Bull In Sports: The Design Myth Adrian Neweywhich will join Aston Martin Next year and sports director Jonathan Wheatleywho would become Sauber team principal at the same time. Red Bull It has already announced a restructuring to replace Wheatley.

reappearance McLaren It was one of the biggest stories of the season. F1.

The team was under immense pressure at the start of 2023, when a tense start to the pre-season led to the departure of the coach. James KeyBut he returned to the front of the grid with a huge improvement in Austrian Grand Prix From that year.

First victory for Lando Norris In it Miami Grand Prix In May of this year, it coincided with an improvement in McLaren Making it the most complete car on the grid. Norris and Oscar Piastri They’ve combined for three more wins since then.

“I still have scars, and I hope they’re permanent. I’ve been scarred since the beginning of 2023,” Brown said. “There are two types of people in this world, those who are motivated by the feeling of victory and those who are motivated by the fear of defeat. I’m motivated by the fear of defeat, and it’s what gets me out of bed every single day.”

“This is probably the least healthy, yes, the most stressful, and it probably explains why I got ulcers a year and a half ago. But I never relax, I never feel comfortable, and I think being uncomfortable is a good thing. Controlling it is important, but I don’t feel like I’m taking my foot off the gas pedal, because if you go far enough, you can see a problem down the road.