Leadership adjustments and a solid driving team are making a difference at McLaren.
WOKING, England—February 13th—For most of Formula 1 history, McLaren has achieved many world titles–both for drivers and constructors. Aryton Senna, Alain Prost, Jenson Button, Niki Lauda, and Lewis Hamilton all made history with this great team.
Over the last few years, though, the name had gone downhill. But following a restructuring plan, which included a new engine manufacturer, two young drivers, a new team manager, and an American CEO, things began to improve. A fourth-place constructor’s finish last season is proof.
Courtesy: Racer
And on Thursday afternoon at their headquarters in the Southern English city of Woking, McLaren introduced their new MCL 35 car to journalists and the public. The hope is that the company will continue its recent trend upward.
“A lot of credit to our two drivers,” said company CEO Zak Brown, who looked fit following a two-month break. “Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. brought a lot of energy to our team,” Brown declared. “McLaren is a fun place to be. It’s a fun garage to be in. It’s a fun factory to work in.”
The turnaround came during the middle of last season when Brown poached former Toro Rosso aerodynamicist James Key, and former Porsche team manager Andreas Seidel, to change the team. That began what turned out to be positive results.
“It feels a lot better than this time last year,” Brown concluded. “We had James (Key) and Andreas (Seidel) joining us. But they had not yet joined this time last year. Now I feel like I have my complete Formula One team in place with Andreas leading it. That was who I wanted to run my Formula One team, and James was who I wanted to be our technical director.”
Brown then talked about his leadership role. “My role is to get the right people in the right place and give them the right resources. I think ever since we have started making changes, we accomplished that,” he declared. “We had a pretty good car last year that got stronger over the second part of the year. I put that down to everybody, but a lot of it was the leadership from Andreas. When the car got competitive, it wasn’t a coincidence.”
Andreas Seidel (photo, F1 Mundial)
Seidel, like Brown, also looked fit at the launch. His German efficiency has paid off, and it could give McLaren a stronger way in how he runs things. “I’m excited,” Brown proclaimed. “But having said that, the gap to third is still very big in Formula One terms, and we have to be realistic that when we try to close that gap, first we have not to go backward, and that itself isn’t easy because we have great competition in the midfield.”
As for the two drivers, things couldn’t be better, including their relationship. “I like what I’m seeing. I like the project. I like the car,” Sainz said. “When we revealed it today, I like how tidy it looks. And (I hope) it’s a faster car than last year. Hopefully, it is a car that is closer to the top teams.”
For teammate Norris, who just finished his rookie season last year, he’s pleased that he and Sainz had a lot of input in how the car was redesigned. “All our comments and discussions have been put into this. It is a lot more about my car, and it feels a bit more my baby.”
And hopefully, the team (with the same papaya car color) will be prepared for results that will take them back to the front of the sport.
