McLaren recently celebrated its 2025 season, marking both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships. The drivers’ title, in particular, came with great effort and tension, even with the team having arguably the best car on the grid. Perhaps because of this, the end-of-year party – attended by team leadership, drivers, and all employees – was particularly lively, especially vocally.
Some viral videos from the event have already surfaced on social media, showing Zak Brown fully “on fire.” The American team principal took center stage alongside McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, delivering a truly memorable show. In classic American style, where sharp and playful sarcasm is common in such situations, Zak Brown didn’t hold back with some cutting yet hilarious remarks.
Addressing his two drivers directly, he said: “I took huge risks with both of you, and don’t pretend you had better options. You [Piastri] were driving a damn Alpine, and you [Norris] had to be faster than Stoffel Vandoorne.” The latter comment referred to the 2018 season when Norris was McLaren’s third driver, with the main pairing being Fernando Alonso and Vandoorne. By the end of that year, Alonso retired, Carlos Sainz joined, and Vandoorne was let go, paving the way for Norris to make his F1 debut.
But Brown’s show had only just begun. “Lando, you’ve been with us forever. Jesus [apparently referring to Piastri], you’ve come a long way. You were a disaster. What I’d really like to do now [to Norris] is mess up your hair, but I’ll challenge Oscar and see how big his balls are.” After an awkward attempt by Piastri to ruffle Norris’s hair, Brown continued:
“We have the two fastest and cutest guys in the world. This is McLaren: real drivers, like us. We defend our way of racing. You two are almost like a pair of unicorns. Next year, maybe we’ll be saying: screw that guy. Both drivers love me, idolize me, call me Big Daddy behind my back,” Brown said amid laughter and playful boos from the McLaren staff. “The reality is they don’t go against me, but they don’t go against Andrea, because deep down they’re scared of Andrea.”
The microphone then passed to Oscar Piastri, who tried to match Zak Brown’s energy, adding some sharp humor of his own: “This year was quite tough at certain points,” the Australian said, “and I think it wore us out. Certainly, not as much as our car’s floor in Las Vegas, though. Now we can laugh about it.” From these moments, it’s clear that McLaren’s party was anything but boring.
Zak Brown’s hilarious and candid speech proves that the atmosphere at Woking is strong, with the team’s success built on fierce internal confidence and camaraderie. As the Papaya team heads into the off-season riding the high of championship success, the challenge will be translating that morale into continued dominance next year.*Do you think McLaren can maintain this momentum and challenge for another title in the next F1 season, or will their rivals close the gap? Share your opinions in the comments below!
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