Brown suggests McLaren will be in ‘the big four’ but not at the front ahead of 2026 season

Zak Brown believes that McLaren will be in the “big four” teams entering into 2026, but the papaya squad’s CEO does not expect that they will place at the front of that group.

As the second and last pre-season test in Bahrain heads towards its final day, speculation is continuing over how the pecking order might look when the new campaign gets underway at the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.

Based on what has been learned so far during testing, Brown is confident that McLaren have a good starting point – but suggested that some of the team’s rivals may not have shown their hand yet.

“I think we’ve produced a good car,” Brown explained. “I think we’ll be in the big four – I don’t think we’re in the front of the big four, but it’s going to be a long season with a lot of development.

“We’re still learning, but I think we’re in a good starting position.”

Looking at the likes of Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff alongside him in Thursday’s team representatives press conference, Brown continued: “I think the red guys and the silver guys are looking very strong, and I don’t think we’ve seen everything yet out of Red Bull, but I think we’re definitely in the top four.”

Following on from his prediction that those four names are likely to be at the top, Brown was later quizzed on why there may be a gap between these squads and some of the smaller teams on the grid.

“It’s people – we’ve all got great technology, wind tunnels, etc,” the McLaren CEO said. “I think in our case we’ve got a fantastic culture with all the men and women at McLaren – we have a lot of stability, we haven’t had much change in the team, so I just think we’ve got great ways of working.

“Also we have a great driver line-up, as do many other teams, and I think when you put that all together, even though the margins are very thin, that ultimately makes a difference. But it’s early days and things will consolidate here pretty quickly.”

McLaren enter the campaign as reigning champions in both titles, having scored their second consecutive Teams’ crown in 2025 as well as seeing Lando Norris clinch his maiden Drivers’ Championship.