McLaren CEO Zak Brown has insisted the group shouldn’t be distracted by speak of clinching the constructors’ championship on the System 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
McLaren has a 21-point lead over Ferrari within the standings, and with each Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri within the entrance row of the grid whereas Charles Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty and qualifying difficulties imply a again of the grid begin for Ferrari, Brown might be forgiven for feeling overconfident.
Nevertheless, he has not labored out the permutations that might see his group topped because the champions – however has nonetheless sought some recommendation from his NHL-playing pals and Tremendous Bowl champion Michael Strahan for some assurance.
“We’re attempting to do what obtained us right here this weekend and never race in another way. Not to consider the championship,” mentioned Brown.
“There’s not a lap the place I’m calculating the championship [standings] ‘he is in that place. He is in that place. The place are we?’
“I’d be mendacity if I mentioned it is fairly nerve-racking. The group’s relaxed.
“I’ve spoken to lots of different athletes which were on this scenario. Mark Messier [six-time Stanley Cup Champion]. Michael Strahan [who won the Super Bowl with the New York Giants in 2007/08]. Anže Kopitar [Slovenian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Los Angeles Kings] and so they’re all like, ‘should you’re not nervous, you are mendacity’. So after all, there’s adrenaline and nervousness.”
Zak Brown, CEO McLaren Racing
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photographs
Brown admitted that if the group was to blow its lead in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, then it could be “soul crushing”, however talking forward of qualifying he mentioned in the event that they do certainly miss out, then they want to determine why – and shortly.
He added: “After all, we’ll be massively dissatisfied to not win it, however I believe we’ll must – if that sadly occurs – we have to shift shortly to take a look at what we have completed this yr and the place we have come from.
“We have come from the brink of insolvency to 5 races wins, second most quantity of podiums consecutively within the historical past of McLaren, gone right down to the final race towards Ferrari, beat Purple Bull and Mercedes.
“So should you requested me, originally of ’23 you completed second within the championship, received 5 races, 14 podiums in a row, I’d have bitten your hand off.
“So I simply assume, after all, we’ll be dissatisfied, however we’ll must shortly shift to simply reflecting on what we’ve achieved, and we obtained to be fairly rattling proud.”
McLaren has confronted criticism this time period for not prioritising Norris’s push for the drivers’ championship over Piastri.
Two situations specifically got here on the Hungarian GP when Norris was instructed at hand the win over, whereas on the Italian GP in Monza the place Piastri made an opening-lap overtake on Norris, which noticed the Briton fall additional down the order.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Workforce, pole man Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Workforce, congratulate one another in Parc Ferme
Photograph by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photographs
However Brown mentioned that regardless of an in depth look into the marketing campaign, he wouldn’t be pointing the blame at any such incident.
“You may return and take a look at so many various factors all year long the place we have left factors on the desk,” he defined.
“You can even take a look at occasions we have benefited. And I believe sport is a 24-race season. All of us have a pure behavior of just like the final play is the play that blew it for the season, when in actuality, that was considered one of 20.
“So if we do not win it, and we lose it by X factors, I am not going to level to anybody factor. It is simply the way it goes.
“We see that in sport on a regular basis that that kick was missed in that recreation, properly, it was missed 10 different occasions as properly, and it counted the identical, simply the final one that you just keep in mind.”
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