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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted to underestimating the process of reviving the Woking-based team when he arrived. The American, however, feels the journey they have been on since, culminating in the team's infamous win at the 2021 F1 Italian GP, is 'immensely rewarding'.
Brown arrived at McLaren towards the end of 2016 when the team had two former world champions in Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button trying to stave off mediocrity.
Unfortunately for him, it would be a while before the team could emerge from the doldrums after bouncing from Honda to Renault power units before eventually signing a deal with Mercedes for 2021.
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Speaking in an interview with FOX Sports in America, Zak Brown said:
“It was worse than I thought it was going to be as far as the environment, what was going on. I joined in the worst year in the history of McLaren. We were in our second year of the Honda relationship, which we struggled with, but logic would say the third is going to be better than the second. It actually ended up kind of being the other way around.”
Brown went on to add, saying:
“I don’t think that was by any means all on Honda, it was the entire environment. So I thought I was coming in to something that was already on the rebound and what I figured out was actually it was still going down. So that was a surprise but I knew given how many races this team’s won, how many Championships this team’s won, that there was a lot of talent inside here, but they just maybe needed some fresh direction and leadership to unlock the talent that was here, is here, and it’s been a great journey.”
2021 F1 Italian GP win in Monza is something McLaren CEO Zak Brown 'enjoyed'
The McLaren CEO was glad that his first win with the team came at Monza in a race that fell together beautifully for the team.
His team's journey from the brink of obscurity has been much more positive with the emergence of young British prodigy Lando Norris and the subsequent arrival of Daniel Ricciardo from Renault.
That decision paid off in 2021 with McLaren claiming their first win since the 2012 Brazilian GP with Ricciardo, while Norris finished in P2 after both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crashed out of the race.
Speaking about the memorable feat, Brown said:
“I’ve enjoyed it and I think that makes it more enjoyable because when you get your first win in Monza, all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into that moment. In Spa, Lando was probably going to be on pole and then I would have hated that to be our first win, where you win a race that you never actually go racing. So to kind of go to Monza, an iconic track finish one-two, take the lead at the start, never looked back, best launches in the race, best pitstops in the race, fastest laps in the race. That just all came together so that was immensely rewarding.”
2022, however, has not gone to plan for Brown and Co. McLaren are currently fourth in the World Constructors' Championship standings with 81 points, 156 points behind Mercedes in P3.
