McLaren flirting with motorsport expansion, other championships at risk?

McLaren Racing appears to be edging closer to an expansion into sports car racing, with CEO Zak Brown saying it has "definitely" caught their attention.

The 53-year-old went as far as to claim McLaren being in endurance racing by 2027 was "looking very favourable".

Alongside racing in F1, IndyCar and Formula E, McLaren has a considerable supercar operation, which means it likely has much of the relevant infrastructure in place through the combination of single-seater motorsport and road cars.

"Our automotive business, which we work very closely with, is clearly synergistic with sports cars," Brown told AP News before explaining growth into sports car racing is already being looked into.

"McLaren Automotive is in the process of being acquired, so they’re going to become, again, a very healthy organisation that wants to go motor racing and we have been for some time under review of sports car racing.

"I find the rules fantastic. The manufacturers have clearly voted in their confidence in the new regulations, and clearly sports car racing is again a major form of motorsports and definitely has our attention."

"For us to be ready for 2027, which is as soon as we would enter, we need to make a decision imminently, and I would say things are looking very favourable."

WEC and IMSA

Endurance racing is currently experiencing a renaissance. The new Hypercar and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) classes have attracted some of the biggest names from the automotive industry.

Across the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), the highest tiers of endurance racing are well represented.

Aston Martin, Ferrari, Cadillac, Lamborghini, BMW, Porsche, Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot and Acura all compete in the top category of at least one of those two championships, which has allowed those series to flourish into what promises to be a golden generation.

"It looks like the papaya army plans to join us," mused IMSA president John Doonan over the recent 24 Hours of Daytona.

Whilst McLaren does currently supply United Autosports with two McLaren 720S GT3 Evos in LMGT3, the second class of WEC, it does not have a works operation in sports car racing.

"Whether we enter WEC and/or IMSA, that would probably be staggered. And at the same time, we’re always reviewing our existing portfolio," said Brown.

"We collectively feel sports car racing is a platform that can really benefit our automotive business, as well as our racing business.

"Sports cars is much more about the manufacturer and we at McLaren feel that’s a great area we can work together."

Risk to IndyCar and Formula E

There does, however, remain the possibility that expansion into sports car racing will come at a cost for McLaren. With Formula E and a three-machine operation in IndyCar, it already has a reasonably full card.

McLaren recently took sole control of its IndyCar programme. When that acquisition was made, Brown spoke about how McLaren was strengthening its commitment to motorsport in North America, which is a "very important market" for the brand.

However, that does not guarantee a long-term stay in IndyCar - or Formula E, for that matter. Unsurprisingly, F1 is the principal focus - and likely always will be - which means if anything has to give, it will be from the two foremost mentioned series.

"When we take decisions on entering new forms of motorsports, we review our existing forms of motorsports," Brown conceded.

"We are clearly rooted in Formula 1 and always have been, so that programme comes first. And we needed to get Formula 1 in a good place, on track and off. Formula 1 is in a very strong place. We’ll take a look at everything else."