McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted that clinching a second or third place does “feel a little bit flatter” now the team has a car that can win regular Formula 1 races.
The Woking-based squad has emerged as a genuine championship candidate this season as it bids to eradicate a 42-point gap to Red Bull in the remaining 10 events.
McLaren attained a breakthrough in Miami as upgrades in Miami propelled Lando Norris to his maiden win, while Oscar Piastri headed a 1-2 result at the Hungaroring.
However, McLaren has also spurned numerous opportunities as driver errors and strategic blunders have seen the side come up short on several occasions this term.
Brown has conceded that McLaren now views F1 podium results that haven’t resulted in a win in a less triumphal light since it has experienced being victorious again.
Asked whether McLaren’s attitude has changed, Brown told Autosport: “It has, because of how many times we’ve finished second and now that we’ve tasted winning.
“Second certainly still is an awesome result, we always celebrate every podium because it’s a huge accomplishment – we’re not taking it for granted.
“But we want to win and we know we’re in a position to win. So when we finished second, as we have this year, by a second or a half a second, as we did in Imola and so close in Canada, that feels a little bit flatter of a podium, than a few years ago when we were just starting to get back on the podium.”
Norris achieved his long-awaited breakthrough moment in the limelight in Miami earlier this season as he won a race on his 110th F1 start to end his elongated wait.
The Briton has been unable to add to that success, however, as multiple missed chances prompted him to express that he required a “reset” during the current break.
Asked what has changed in Norris to now make him irritated when he comes home in second, Brown responded: “I think the aspiration to win has only gotten greater.
“He’s always been a great driver, the only thing that’s taken so long is us giving him a car to be capable of winning in.
“Now he’s running at the front on a regular basis, so I think expectations are clearly higher.
“We know we’re coming into these races here most recently with the chance to win every weekend.
“So with that comes some more excitement, but higher expectations and more pressure, but we’re all enjoying it.”
Norris hasn’t been alone in making mistakes at crucial moments as the McLaren pit wall has been scrutinised over calls that have cost both drivers possible victories.
But Brown has shielded the squad from outside criticism, citing that mishaps are inevitable when his newfound McLaren has minimal experience operating at the top.
“I think some of the mistakes that we’ve made this year have been from the youthfulness of a team that’s not run at the front as regularly as we are now,” he said.
“Silverstone we didn’t optimise, Hungary we got there at the end, but not without some excitement. So I think it’s just going to take a little bit more time.
“I think Toto [Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal ] eloquently said sometimes you don’t learn this stuff until you’re in the heat of the battle.
“Now that we’re in the heat of the battle, we’re learning some stuff as we go along but that’s okay.
“What I always tell the team is mistakes are okay, just learn from them and don’t make the same one twice. That makes you smarter next time around.
“So I’m quite relaxed with the learnings that we’ve gone through this year.”
