McLaren Formula 1 CEO Zak Brown has revealed the team senses it will take a “step forward” with its 2024 car but admits its scale of progress will also be dependent on Red Bull.
Having started last year struggling hugely with an underdeveloped car, a series of mid-season upgrades elevated McLaren into a recognised fixture at the front of the field.
The Woking-based squad accrued a total of nine podiums, plus a Sprint win for rookie Oscar Piastri in Qatar, to secure fourth position in the Constructors’ Championship.
McLaren’s remarkable turnaround has instilled hope that it could be the side to bring an end to Red Bull’s domination of the current ground effect regulations next year.
But while Brown is optimistic regarding McLaren’s prospects, he is cautious about the gains Red Bull could make after ceasing development early on the title-winning RB19.
Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner confirmed it only added “little developments” beyond the summer break as it bids to evolve “all aspects” of the team’s 2023 car.
Looking ahead to 2024 with Speedcafe, Brown said: “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.
“How much? The great mystery on Red Bull is when did they turn off the development of their car to focus on next year [2024], and I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey [Red Bull Chief Technical Officer] magic comes out of the oven so to speak to see where we are.
“And 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 to Lewis [Hamilton] winning his eighth championship.”
While Red Bull obliterated the opposition to win 21 out of 22 races in 2023, the battle behind saw Aston Martin, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes consistently trading places.
Brown believes the competitiveness of the grid last season demonstrated the effectiveness of the cost cap, which was introduced in 2021 to provide a level playing field between the top teams and the rest.
“I think it has been great,” Brown said on the budget cap.
“On one hand, with one driver, we’ve never had a less competitive Formula 1, thank you Max, hats off. Behind that, it’s the most competitive I’ve ever seen Formula 1.
“It’s the first time in the history of Formula 1 you’ve had five teams with seven podiums or more. You have teams that are ninth or 10th in the championship making it into Q3, I won’t say on a regular basis, but enough.
“In the good old days of Formula 1, the teams that were at the back of the grid were three seconds off. The entire grid is now covered by a second.
“So I don’t think Formula 1 has ever been more competitive, I think it’s going to get even more competitive.
“Once some of us catch this Max guy, Formula 1 is going to be unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
