McLaren boss Zak Brown sets the record straight on the team's priority as the brand sets sights on the triple crown

McLaren boss Zak Brown has stressed that the brand's priority will continue to be F1 even though it has set it's sights on the triple crown. The triple crown comprises of winning the Indy500, the 24 hours of LeMans, and the Monaco GP.

On the current F1 grid, McLaren is the only team to have achieved all three. The team is in superlative form from the start of the season in Formula 1, where it seems destined to win both constructors' and drivers' championships.

In IndyCar as well, even though championship success eludes the outfit, it still has Pato O'Ward second in the championship with Christian Lundgaard in 4th.

In 2027, the outfit would enter Endurance Racing as well in its bid to win the triple crown.

While the aim is to win in all categories, Zak Brown is clear that McLaren's priority will continue to be F1. On 'How Leaders Lead With David Novak', he said,

“We're a Formula 1 team, we're an IndyCar team, currently a Formula E team, and now going to become a World Endurance Championship team, which is Le Mans. Obviously, the centre of our universe is Formula 1 and always will be. However, North America is one of, if not the most important market for most companies - huge fan base, great economy."

He added,

"And until Formula 1 took off in North America, we wanted to have a competitive difference to our other Formula 1 rivals with our fan base and with our corporate partners, and have a bigger presence in North America. Even though Formula 1 is taking off in North America, we still want to be bigger in North America than our competition. That’s kind of the rationale behind why we’re in IndyCar racing."

Brown on why McLaren is branching out to WEC

When McLaren first competes in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2027, it will be the first one to have a team in F1, IndyCar, Formula E, and World Endurance Racing. According to Brown, competing in such a varied field and different kinds of challenges brings diversity to the brand that is unique and hence provides a bigger pie for the sponsors. He said,

“The World Endurance Championship, which is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we’ve just announced entry into - we’re going to go into it in 2027. That’s where all the automotive sports car manufacturers play. You see our competitors: the Ferraris, the Lamborghinis, the Aston Martins, the Porsches, and it’s a natural racing series for us to really collaborate closely with our automotive business. So that’s why we’re in the World Endurance Championship."

He added,

“You put those three together, you have what’s called the triple crown, which we’re the only team to have ever won - the Indy 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Monaco Grand Prix. But we did it in different eras, so kind of in different eras of our brand. We now are the only team in the world racing in those three huge - really the three biggest - racing series. And so that offers us diversity of opportunity with fans, geographies, technologies, and for our corporate partners.”

McLaren's transformation since Zak Brown took over has been unique because of the kind of success he has achieved not only in F1 but across different racing categories.