Zach Brown appreciates Lando Norris’ result in qualifying, but is not sorry that Oscar Piastri failed to rise to a higher position. In addition, McLaren Racing’s chief executive had a few words about Rob Marshall, who will take over as the team’s technical director next year.
Q: Maybe you should smile wider somehow, given Lando Norris’ result?
Zach Brown: We are happy with his result, but it’s funny that you immediately get greedy, because we could have achieved even more. Oscar had a chance to rise to a higher position, but we are willing to accept such qualifying results. In general we are satisfied.
Q: How did you show the third result? At the start of the weekend, Lando didn’t think his chances were too high. At the same time you are preparing the next batch of new products just for the podium at Silverstone – did you expect to perform so well in Barcelona?
Zach Brown: No, of course we did not expect this. But if you look at the density of results in Formula 1 today, it becomes very common when a team goes to the final, when the previous weekend couldn’t even make it through the first qualifying session. But that’s great!
In general, cool conditions are more suitable for our car, so let’s hope the same weather continues tomorrow.
Q: After the Monaco race, Lando somehow didn’t smile very broadly either and said he needed a faster car first. McLaren introduced many new products in Baku, but it is believed that it is in Barcelona that the effectiveness of the chassis is really tested. What can be said about this after today’s result?
Zach Brown: I suggest we wait for the race and see what pace we can get in the Grand Prix tomorrow. I wouldn’t be too happy with the results of qualifying. It takes two or three races for new products to really work effectively, and in Baku we didn’t have much time to handle them properly because of the sprint.
I hope we are now witnessing the beginning of a change for the better. It’s hard to guess how things will turn out in Montreal, but I like the way the team is working now and new specialists will join in the near future. In general, let’s hope there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Q: But Oscar lost about nine-tenths to Lando – by what?
Zach Brown: He made a mistake on the last sector. In the first two sectors of the circle, Oscar was even faster than Lando, and that was the case in almost all of the weekend’s sessions. I suppose we could count on better results, but still both McLaren cars made it to the qualifying final.
Q: Looks like you were able to switch one of the Red Bull specialists? How did you do? Did you call him yourself? Or did headhunters work for you?
Zach Brown: Yes, Rob Marshall is coming. And in this case, I myself was quite actively involved in all this.
Q: Did you have his phone number?
Zach Brown: Someone on our team shared this number with me. And if Rob decides to come to us from such a successful team as Red Bull, then he believes in McLaren.
Q: And who told you that he is such a great specialist? After all, if you work in another team, it is very difficult to assess this from the outside.
Zach Brown: Yes, but the results of his work speak for themselves. Adrian Newey has always spoken highly of Rob, and Adrian knows what he’s doing, everyone knows that. He provided Marshall with excellent references.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
