McLaren won the Constructors’ World Championship in the 2024 Formula One season – According to CEO Zak Brown, leadership played an important role
Trust, a willingness to take criticism and the courage to spread responsibility across multiple shoulders: According to managing director Zak Brown, these are the cornerstones of McLaren’s success in the 2024 Formula One season, in which the team won the Constructors’ World Championship title. Brown does not see himself as the iron captain of the ship, but rather as a coach who makes decisions that are then implemented by his “quarterbacks” with their own finesse, as in American football.
“What I’m good at is finding the best people for the right roles,” Brown clarifies, adding that his management style also involves delegating responsibility. ”I support them, give them constant feedback, but at the same time let them do their work. It’s important to get the best out of them so that the whole team gains momentum.”
Brown has therefore built a team of ten people around him who monitor their areas and are allowed to make their own decisions – they are his quarterbacks, who execute the plays in American football. Trust plays a major role in this: “We are very loyal, but we don’t always agree. It’s very constructive because we know we also criticize each other.”
With this style, McLaren has made it back to the top of Formula 1, even though the drivers’ title went to Max Verstappen of Red Bull. The team had waited 26 years to win the Constructors’ World Championship again. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were the drivers who achieved this milestone. In the end, only 14 points decided the title win: Ferrari came in second, Red Bull had to settle for third place.
Brown trusts in Andrea Stella, the McLaren team principal who took over from Andreas Seidel and has since performed well. From his most important quarterback, to stay with the image, Brown wants criticism: “Part of my leadership style is also being told that I’m wrong. Then I adjust my behavior, but I also remain critical. That’s what makes it so constructive. I’m here to support the team. I work for the team, not the other way around.“
”I just help, but I’m not the quarterback,” Brown continues. ”Andrea is the quarterback, every manager on the team is a quarterback. I’m the manager and I help make decisions. But I don’t throw the ball.” Brown shares his thoughts with his string-pullers and enjoys debate, but he doesn’t enforce his ideas with an iron fist. He trusts the judgment of the people he has recruited for the role.
Brown also respects his own limits. Piastri’s race engineer Tom Stallard once told Brown how much he appreciates the fact that the managing director does not interfere in the command stand. “I don’t tell Tom or Will [Joseph, Norris’ race engineer] what to do and how to approach a race. I’m not qualified to do that,” Brown admits. “But that’s how I gain respect.”
