Zak Brown admits trying to ‘destabilise’ rivals in ‘very political’ paddock
Zak Brown has been one of the more vocal members of the F1 paddock in recent years.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted to trying to ‘destabilise’ other teams following his very public disputes with Red Bull.
Brown has taken to engaging the likes of Christian Horner in what he believes is a way to push McLaren to the top of the sport and suggested that was normal for the “political” world of F1.
Zak Brown admits ‘destabilise’ efforts against Red Bull and rivals
In recent years, Brown has become one of the most vocal non-driver members of the paddock and, in particular, has taken aim at Red Bull on a number of topics ranging from how they handle Max Verstappen to having two teams under the same company.
That put him at odds with former Red Bull boss Christian Horner and even if that has simmered since the Briton’s departure in July, Brown has admitted that doing so is a tactic he employs to try and take down dominant teams.
“Everywhere,” he said on talkSPORT when asked where McLaren’s main competition comes from. “Because it depends on what it is: drivers, teams, sponsors, employees.
“I mean, you’re fighting hard, which I think is one of the things that Drive to Survive shows so well. Is our sport, the competition off the field is as great as it is on the field, and it’s very political.
“I’m not an expert in other sports, but we are trying to, in our sport, destabilise other teams. So we’re not just trying to make our team as strong as possible.
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“Andrea [Stella], our team principal, calls it poison biscuits because you are trying… and you see it with the drivers, right? They talk trash to each other, and that’s all mental to try and kind of get in each other’s heads and we do that at every level.”
Brown was asked about Horner specifically and whether the sport missed him and while he suggested it did, he said there were other characters who could take the spotlight.
“Yeah, in the sense of he was an unbelievable team boss. Obviously, things went sideways the last couple years, I think he’ll be back.
“But I think sport is filled with characters, good guys, bad guys, all different. I think that’s what makes the sport fascinating.”
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