Zak Brown Sends a Warning to Mercedes & Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton & Carlos Sainz Departures Set to Shake Up Team Dynamics

The 2024 silly season kicked off way before anyone expected, as the Formula 1 world has been making headline after headline. From Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari to internal issues at Red Bull with the investigation of Christian Horner, the paddock has already seen its fair share of drama. What’s also worth mentioning is the internal tension between Ferrari and Carlos Sainz in his farewell season. However, in between all this chaos, McLaren has managed to remain extremely stable, especially by securing the services of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the long term. CEO Zak Brown recently shared his thoughts on the current situation, stating that they’re happy just observing the drama unfold rather than being directly involved.

The Woking-based team made headlines with an impressive comeback in 2023, transitioning from a challenging start to the season to frequently contending for podium finishes after its massive upgrade package in Austria. So, the obvious question now is, can McLaren take another step forward in 2024 and take advantage of their distracted rivals?

Zak Brown highlights the possible issues at Mercedes and Ferrari

Mercedes not only has to deal with finding a worthy replacement for Lewis Hamilton, but they’ll also have to guard certain information from him as he will become their rival in 2025. The same is true for Carlos Sainz as well. However, the situation at the Scuderia could be a little worse because Sainz would want to leave his mark on the team before leaving. This means he’ll probably act in his own best interest rather than the team’s.

The situation at Red Bull, while under control right now, could spell trouble for the team if they have to undergo a change in the leadership in the middle of the season. With all that happening behind the scenes, McLaren could find itself a step ahead of its rivals with the stability of having one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid. Zak Brown recently spoke about the current F1 landscape at ‘The Fast And The Curious’ podcast.

“You have drivers going out [Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes and Carlos Sainz from Ferrari], so you gotta figure out when do you start managing what information they have. Drivers will now have something to prove so maybe the team orders will be a little bit harder to implement,“ Zak Brown noted. “And of course, Red Bull has unfortunately some off-track situation going on which can’t be pleasant for anyone so that one’s less entertaining if you’d like but it does mean the 3 teams that we’re chasing down all have some issues to work through.”

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While there’s little doubt that Red Bull will continue its dominance in 2024, Zak Brown is worried about the close ties between the two Red Bull teams.

Brown cautions FIA of the Red Bull ‘B’ team

Zak Brown has been vocal about his opposition to the idea of one owner having two Formula 1 teams. Brown recently shared his stance after the launch of McLaren’s MCL38 car, emphasizing that Red Bull’s current setup is not sustainable as it undermines the fairness of the sport.

He pointed out that in most major sports, owning two teams is not permitted, and he believes Formula 1 should also stick to similar standards. The existence of A-B relationships and co-ownership of two teams not only creates an uneven playing field, it could also help the two teams with their development strategy throughout the season. He believes that the FIA should intervene to address this issue and ensure fairness within the sport.

READ MORE: Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes: Which F1 Team Has the Strongest Driver Lineup for 2024?

Will the VCARB 01 turn out to be yet another case of the infamous Pink Mercedes? What are your thoughts on the matter?