Zak Brown Takes Command as Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri Warm the Bench for McLaren Boss’ Race

McLaren’s resurgence this year has come as a pleasant surprise for both fans and CEO Zak Brown after his bet on Andrea Stella and the B Car approach has so far paid off this season. Whilst it’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri having a blast with the MCL60, the McLaren boss isn’t one to just sit idle.

Especially when the Velocity Invitational is happening at the Sonoma Raceway located in sunny northern California this weekend! A heritage event which is known for the classics and retros that are allowed to roar as they once did, Zak Brown is looking forward to driving a fully restored McLaren racecar with American history behind it, aptly named – The Batmobile– a car which was also responsible for the death of Bruce McLaren, the founder of the Woking outfit.

Zak Brown outshines Lando Norris and Co. at the Velocity Invitational

In its fourth installment, the US counterpart of the Goodwood Revival is set to host over $300 million worth of iconic race-cars in a race that spans across decades (literally), and for McLaren‘s 60th anniversary, the Woking outfit has brought the biggest heritage collection to ever grace the Velocity Invitational. Out of the beautiful Papaya racers, Zak Brown will be driving a completely rebuilt 1970 McLaren M8D, which was driven by Dan Gurney.

In a post shared by Zak Brown on Instagram, he celebrated his qualifying results at the event, scoring P3 in the McLaren 8D and P4 in the Williams FW07, that’s right, Zak Brown’s love for vintage racers extends beyond McLaren’s garage.

Although Lando Norris, Pato O’ward, and other prominent McLaren drivers were present for the weekend, Oscar Piastri was nowhere to be found, but Zak Brown sidelined them all with a brilliant qualifying run, followed by a mega race result!

But all eyes were on the McLaren with its iconic Papaya livery that is a staple of the Woking outfit, the big bore exits behind Zac Brown’s head were a sight to be held, just imagine what the CEO felt as the beating V8 roared to life after essentially being frozen in time. Whilst the Williams was also a beautiful sight,  the real winner was the McLaren M8D, which allowed Zak Brown to secure P2 at the checkered flag with the United Auto Sports team.

READ MORE: Lando Norris Fumes Over Zak Brown & Co.’s Inexplicable Error While Taking Ownership for Costly Mistake

It’s safe to say that Zak Brown was the star of the show, dazzling the spectators with a brilliant performance that not many other team bosses can brag about, except maybe Toto Wolff, who would give Zak Brown a run for his money.

What were some other iconic McLaren cars present?

The fans in his Instagram comments praised the CEO for letting us have a glimpse into an era that we otherwise would never have had the privilege to experience. With the current hybrid engines, a lot of fans believe the cars have lost a bit of their soul, unlike the McLaren M8D which screams passion and power. But that’s not the only interesting car that McLaren brought with them to the Invitational.

A list of McLaren’s most iconic cars would be incomplete without mentioning the one driven by one of the most iconic drivers – James Hunt. The M26-2 was driven by the stylish Brit during the 1977 season. and was the first F1 racer to deploy an aluminum honeycomb structure for its monocoque, another revolutionary design by McLaren that would become the standard in the years that followed. The car also gifted Hunt with three victories at Silverstone, Watkins Glen, and Mount Fuji.

Since we’re on the topic of wins, we can’t forget the car Lando Norris was frightened by this weekend, the McLaren MP4/2-1. A car considered to be one of the Woking outfit’s finest pieces of craftsmanship, it led Alain Prost to 7 wins and Niki Lauda to 5 wins and his last world title in 1984. The car was so great that Lauda’s closest competitor for the title was his teammate Alain Prost, who lost out by an unbelievably close margin of half a point!

Topping it off with a screaming engine was the MP4/6-10, the last car to win a championship with a manual stick-shift transmission. But that wasn’t the only thing special about it! It remains the only ever V12-powered F1 car to win a world championship!

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McLaren’s heritage is in good hands because as long as Zak Brown is around, the vintage beauties will get to go back in time to winning ways for at least a few weekends!