Zak Brown sets McLaren target after delivering F1 season verdict

Zak Brown has described McLaren's F1 season as "difficult" after the team's back-to-back constructors' championships were followed by a slide down the standings under the sport's new regulations.

McLaren CEO Brown was reflecting on a campaign which sees his team 239 points adrift of leaders Mercedes in the standings, and 105 points behind second-placed Ferrari. It is in danger of being overtaken by a resurgent Red Bull for third, with the teams just seven points apart.

McLaren has managed just two victories this season, both courtesy of Lando Norris in Hungary and Zandvoort either side of the summer break. In contrast, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has dominated the drivers' title chase, scoring eight wins en route.

McLaren's struggles have been attributed to fundamental grip and vehicle-dynamic limitations on the MCL40 that cannot be fixed through aerodynamic load alone, prompting it to pursue a substantially revised chassis concept for 2027 rather than carry over its current monocoque architecture as some rivals are expected to do.

Team principal Andrea Stella has previously conceded that development focus had already shifted towards next season, with straight-line speed deficiencies tied to drag, gearing and power unit output also weighing on the team's competitiveness against the works runners.

Brown - 'It's getting closer and closer'

Asked to rate his team's season, Brown did not hide from the scale of the drop-off.

"Difficult," Brown said. "A lot of progress, lots of learning.

"If you go to Australia, everyone thought Mercedes would win 24 races on the trot, and they've had an unbelievable season. I'd be very surprised if they didn't win the championship.

"But knowing them as I do, that's not going to be the attitude any race team has, right? It's not over until it's over. Now you've got four teams that have won races.

"So here we are again with an unbelievably competitive Formula 1. You've had Alpine with a pole, and when you look at the timing screens, whether it's a Racing Bulls or an Alpine, no one's far away. So, it's getting closer and closer."

Appreciably, with six rounds remaining, which may yet be trimmed to five if a race at Imola replaces the Qatar and Abu Dhabi GPs, Brown recognises McLaren has to finish this season strongly to build into next year.

"This has been a tough year, a learning year," he remarked. "But I want to finish on a high note so we can go into '27 fighting for the championship."