McLaren pipped Racing Point [now Aston Martin] for P3 in the constructors during the 2020 F1 season. 3 years apart, the Papaya team again tipped the green team, but this time for the shock of the season. McLaren was arguably the slowest team on the grid at the start. But fortunes have changed and they seem to be the 2nd best. However, Zak Brown sidelined Lando Norris to crown the MVP for this paradigm shift. Who’s this MVP?

Nobody expected McLaren to take such a huge leap forward in terms of performance. The upgrade brought to Austria did the magic, and it really did look like magic. Nonetheless, Zak Brown accredited Andrea Stella for the huge gains in performance as Lando Norris’ contribution was sidelined. The engineers alone cannot make the car faster. The driver’s feedback is of the utmost essence as it reveals whether the simulation data actually matches what the car is doing,

For the same reason, experienced drivers are rated so highly, because they can feel every little detail of how the car is moving under them. Hence the engineers know exactly what is happening with the car and what needs to be fixed. Yet, Zak Brown declaring Andrea Stella as the MVP feels odd. According to @TheMcLarenZone’s tweet that quoted ESPN, Brown said “All credit to Andrea for putting it out there and not making bold predictions, not making race performance predictions.”

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Also, the car alone cannot do a lap around a track, the driver is as crucial as the car, something that Brown ignored. However, Zak Brown isn’t only about friendly fire but is also targeting his rivals. Red Bull, who has set the benchmark the whole season, is on Zak Brown’s radar. But what did the McLaren CEO say?

Zak Brown advises on hunting down the title next year.

Red Bull showed McLaren who the real boss was at the Belgium GP. Oscar Piastri, despite taking the lead, wasn’t able to hold Max Verstappen off. Jumping from last to 2nd isn’t enough for Zak Brown who advises that McLaren will have every chance of becoming a world champion next year. Looks like Red Bull’s dominance is under threat.

According to Motorsport, Zak Brown said “We’ll have everything by January 1st in place to be a world championship team. We have different leadership and structure. Then we have new people coming in, which should be another contribution to performance.”

Do you think McLaren has what it takes to become a championship contender?

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