McLaren's Brown in major Hamilton claim: 'Wouldn't be surprised'

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has insisted he "wouldn't be surprised" if Lewis Hamilton was to win a record-breaking eighth F1 World Championship in the upcoming season.

Hamilton has been unable to challenge for a victory since the end of the 2021 season, where he narrowly missed out on his eighth title to Max Verstappen in a controversial end to the campaign, as Mercedes has struggled to find consistent form under the sport's latest technical regulation set.

Whilst Red Bull dominated proceedings last term by securing victory in all but one of the races, the fluctuating pecking order between Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin and McLaren has left a tantalising prospect for close action up front in the new season.

Speaking to the Speedcafe KTM Summer Grill, Brown suggested the title battle could be wide open.

Red Bull's 'great mystery'

“We like what we’re seeing in the wind tunnel and CFD at the moment, so we feel like we’re going to take a step forward,” said Brown.

“How much? The great mystery on Red Bull is when did they turn off the development of their car to focus on this year [2024], and I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey magic comes out of the oven to see where we are.

“At the same time, Mercedes or Ferrari - these teams have everything they need and are great teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were sitting here and all of a sudden Mercedes was back and Lewis winning his eighth championship.

“It’s very tough and competitive now. I don’t think you can rule anybody out.”