"It's about having the right people": Zak Brown aims to replicate McLaren's F1 growth strategy to IndyCar 

The McLaren CEO Zak Brown recently spoke about replicating the same success as the Formula One team with IndyCar. He also spoke about having the right people to achieve the success.

Brown has taken the McLaren Formula One team to great heights as the team went from being a midfield team to winning the 2024 Constructors' Championship and leading the same this year. He also got on board multiple sponsors, along with great team members, and has made a considerable amount of investment in the turnaround of the team. Brown believes that the same is possible with the IndyCar team.

While talking to Bob Pockrass, a Fox Motorsports insider, the 53-year-old was questioned regarding whether the same strategy can be used for the IndyCar team considering it has more limitations when it comes to the engine and body. He replied by saying, (via Fox Motorsports)

"One-hundred percent [the same] and it's all people. It's about having the right people, getting the right people on the bus."

It is quite evident that the transformation of the team is in the works, as earlier this year, Brown replaced former Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward with Tony Kanaan. He also managed to rope in former Team Penske team member, Kyle Moyer, as the competition director.

Zak Brown had also gone on to replace Alexander Rossi with Christian Lundgaard, who has consistently delivered top-ten finishes this season and is currently sitting in fourth in the drivers' championship. Earlier this month, the team announced a change in their headquarters as they acquired the old Andretti Global shop in Zionsville.

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Zak Brown speaks about changes in IndyCar's financial structure

Zak Brown, the McLaren CEO, recently spoke about Team Penske owner Roger Penske having the sole ownership of the IndyCar series. The issue came to light after two of the three Team Penske cars were found violating the technical rule 14.7.8.16 for illegal modifications at the Indy 500 earlier this year. Brown also spoke about how with the right amount of resources, IndyCar can pose a challenge to Formula One in terms of it popularity in North America.

While in conversation with RACER, the 53-year-old showed interest in becoming a stakeholder at IndyCar alongside Penske and helping in popularizing the IndyCar series. Additionally, Zak Brown also spoke about how IndyCar can benefit from a franchise system like Formula One.

“I would love to see a true franchise system. If you think about NFL, MLB, NBA, F1 kind of – technically, they're not equity owners, but the way it's set up, I'd love to see that, because I think that then means the teams share and can take the same view. My annual P&L is one thing, but [if] the value of my IndyCar team has gone up, then you also have everyone rowing the same direction because everyone's sharing in the growth of the sport. It’s not my decision, but personally, I'd love to see that.” he said

Zak Brown has been the most prominent factor in the turnaround of the McLaren Formula One team over the past few year. Notably, he managed to get huge sponsors like Google Chrome and DP World on board.