Growing pains are real, but they forge individuals and teams into better versions of themselves. McLaren F1 has done some good things recently, and its team shows good promise for the 2022 season. But this progress hasn’t happened on its own. Here’s how Zak Brown tackled the issues that were affecting all those involved.
Zak Brown says while in a podcast with Jason Stein that he first focused on people. The CEO admits that some needed fixing, while others needed a gentle push or a reminder that they’re valuable. He doesn’t shy away from saying that additions were also needed and that he had to wait for the right people to finish their contractual obligations before bringing them in.
This is more than understandable since we remind ourselves that McLaren got their first win after nine years of nothing in 2021 – the same year when the decision to use Mercedes power was implemented. The team had a one-two result at Monza. Even though they finished the season in fourth place, that was the first sign that things were starting to come around. Enter 2022, and the team looks like it's ready to go all-in.
McLaren F1 Team’s CEO also says that morale was low, and he found a “blame culture” that prompted a need for change. He worked with his team on different levels and took care of those that he found too shy. Brown also underlines there was confusion about pay. Almost nobody understood when bonuses were incoming or why they weren’t given at all. He wanted clarity to be available for everyone, no matter the role.
Zak Brown is also feeling the changes, as he started to play the same “mind games” Mercedes-AMG was accused of. At the beginning of the current year, he said Lewis Hamilton was going to retire.
There’s certainly going to be a very interesting 2022 F1 season that we can’t wait to witness.
You can watch more about his approach in the video below.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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