Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL60. 23.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest, Hungary, Race Day.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown says the side’s remarkable turnaround before the summer break was “massively important” to its chances of retaining Lando Norris.
McLaren entered the campaign expecting to begin on the back foot, having openly expressed over the winter it had missed developments targets with its MCL60 car.
However, since the addition of a series of substantial upgrades from the Austrian Grand Prix, the Woking squad has become an established contender for podiums.
Norris secured successive second places at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix, while team-mate Oscar Piastri finished runner-up finish in the Sprint Race in Belgium.
Amid speculation over Norris’ future, Brown believes it has been imperative that McLaren has demonstrated to the Briton it has a team capable of progressing up the pecking order.
“I think it’s been massively important for all of us. It shows we can do it,” Brown told ESPN.
“That being said, we haven’t won one with [Norris] yet. He loves McLaren, it’s been his family, so there’s no doubt in my mind is his number one choice is to win a World Championship with McLaren.
“I think the best thing we do to retain him is to demonstrate to him we’re a team capable of doing that.
“It’s not a case of wooing him or not wooing him, it’s about giving him a car where he can look himself in the mirror and say ‘I think I can win a World Championship with this team’.”
As McLaren bids to return to competing for regular race wins, Brown has confirmed the team is now operating out of its brand new wind tunnel in Woking ahead of the 2023 season’s resumption, reducing the restrictions it was encountering by previously using Toyota’s base in Cologne, Germany.
“We’re in it now,” Brown said regarding the wind tunnel. “Coming out of the summer break, we’re in it.
“We now have everything in place and just need some more time to mature. So the wind tunnel here, the simulators here, the manufacturing unit is open.”
(L to R): Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren celebrates his second position in qualifying parc ferme with third placed team mate Oscar Piastri (AUS) McLaren. 08.07.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 11, British Grand Prix, Silverstone, England, Qualifying Day.
Alongside vast improvements to its facilities, new McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella, who replaced Alfa Romeo-bound Andreas Seidl over the winter, has proceeded to ring the changes from a personnel standpoint.
Following McLaren’s sluggish opening to the year, Technical Director James Key was relieved of his duties, with Stella opting to introduce a revised three-pronged arrangement in the technical department.
McLaren has since announced the acquisitions of ex-Ferrari Head of Vehicle Concept David Sanchez and former Red Bull stalwart Rob Marshall, who will both begin work at Woking in January 2024.
Brown is convinced that the British outfit is now putting everything in place to become a credible contender for Formula 1 titles once the regulations are reset come 2026.
“We’ve got our team in place,” he assessed. “It’s stable. We have additional talent coming to be additive to what we currently have. We have all the financial resources we need.
“It’s just going to take a little bit of time so as long as we can show this progress… ’26 is going to be a huge reset for this sport and there’s not going to be any excuses for us.
“We have everything we need from resources, people, two great drivers, all the technology, infrastructure.
“As long as [Norris] continues to see our pace and development then I think he’ll have all the confidence in the world that this team’s won 20 World Championships and have everything they need, look at the momentum.
“You look down the grid, there’s as many unknowns about ’26. Red Bull with a new engine, how’s that going to be? They’ve never done that before.
“There’s all sorts of variables going on there and I think our story is as good as anyone’s.”
Keyword: Brown: McLaren gains ‘massively important’ to retaining Norris