McLaren boss Brown expects reigning champions to win again ‘sooner rather than later’

Zak Brown is adamant that McLaren will be winning Grands Prix again “sooner rather than later” after two tricky weekends in Australia and China to kick off their season.

McLaren returned to the top of the F1 pecking order last year by winning both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships – the Woking outfit’s first title double since 1998.

However, they have faced some early challenges under all-new regulations for 2026, with rivals Mercedes and Ferrari holding a pace advantage, and both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri failing to start in Shanghai last time out amid technical problems.

Speaking as part of a post-race debrief in front of staff at McLaren’s factory, CEO Brown pointed to the positives and indicated that better times are on the horizon.

“We’ve got the two best drivers in the world, we’ve got the best racing team in the world, we’ve got the best culture in a racing team, so let’s just get on with it, go to Japan, race these cars – we’ll all continue to do what we do,” said Brown.

“I’m looking forward to when we win races. I guarantee you when we win our next race, which will be sooner rather than later, we’re not going to be thinking about speed traces or batteries or anything, we’re going to be, ‘We’re winning Grand Prix races’.”

McLaren’s double ‘did not start’ in China came after Piastri’s crash on his way to the grid in Australia, meaning the team have scored just 18 points up to now and sit a distant third in the Teams’ Championship.

Before Brown’s rallying call, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella gave an honest assessment of the situation, while also pointing to the valuable lessons that have been taken from the first two rounds.

“The most detrimental aspect of not being able to participate is the points in the championship,” said Stella. “While at the moment Mercedes seem to be in their own category, and we are a little closer to Ferrari, we obviously race with the ambition to compete for important results.

“We are just losing ground. These points could have been important at the end of the season. So, the most important shortcoming of what happened [in China] is not scoring the points.

“It’s also quite regrettable and disappointing for our fans and for our partners from a commercial and a technical point of view. So, there’s obviously several downsides – and every lap is important in 2026.

“At the same time, I think we are learning quite rapidly. With what we have learned in Australia, in the Sprint [in China], we think we are actually in a good position now, especially in terms of exploiting the power unit.”