McLaren CEO Zak Brown has acknowledged the team’s difficult 2026 Formula 1 season and its unexpected decline in performance, but remains determined to end the campaign on a stronger note before mounting a championship challenge in 2027. After a successful period in which the Woking-based team returned to winning ways, McLaren has struggled to maintain its competitiveness, while tensions between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have added another challenge.
The two drivers have found themselves battling each other for positions well below their expectations, reflecting the difficulties facing the reigning world champions. With the final rounds of the season approaching, McLaren is focused on improving its results while work is already progressing at the factory on its 2027 Formula 1 project.
Zak Brown admits McLaren has endured a difficult 2026 F1 season
McLaren entered the 2026 campaign hoping to build on its previous success, but the team’s performance has not followed the trajectory it had anticipated. Despite making progress compared with the opening races, the British squad has experienced an unexpected downturn that has prevented it from consistently competing at the level it wants.
Reflecting on McLaren’s season, Zak Brown acknowledged both the improvements already achieved and the work still required to return the team to the front.
“Difficult. We’ve made a lot of progress when we look at our performances at the beginning of the season, but there is still a lot to improve.”
The situation has been complicated further by the on-track tensions between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Rather than competing for the results they had originally hoped to achieve, the two McLaren drivers have found themselves fighting over positions that underline the team’s current competitive difficulties.
Zak Brown highlights Mercedes, Red Bull and growing F1 competition
Looking at the wider championship picture, Zak Brown also reflected on how dramatically the competitive order has evolved since the opening round. At the beginning of the season, Mercedes appeared capable of establishing an overwhelming advantage, with many expecting the team to dominate the new regulatory era.
However, the campaign has developed differently. Other teams, including McLaren, have managed to challenge Mercedes, while Red Bull has emerged as an increasingly competitive force.
“If you go back to Australia, everyone thought Mercedes would win 24 races in a row, but instead there have been several outsiders, with Red Bull very competitive at the moment. Now there are four teams that have won races.”
For Zak Brown, the number of teams capable of challenging at the front demonstrates just how closely contested the championship has become. The McLaren CEO believes the competitiveness extends beyond the teams that have secured race victories, with smaller gaps separating much of the Formula 1 field.
“And here we are again with an incredibly competitive Formula 1. We’ve seen Alpine take pole position and, when we look at the timesheets, whether it’s Racing Bulls or Alpine, nobody is far away. So the competition is getting tighter and tighter.”
That increasingly close field makes McLaren’s recovery more challenging. Even relatively small performance differences can have a significant impact on where a team finishes, leaving little room for mistakes as the season approaches its conclusion.
McLaren targets 2027 F1 championship after difficult year
Despite the frustrations of 2026, Zak Brown is already looking towards the next phase of McLaren’s development. The immediate priority is to improve the team’s performances during the remaining races, but the longer-term ambition is to return to the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship in 2027.
Work towards next year’s campaign is already under way at the McLaren factory, with the team determined to learn from the difficulties it has experienced throughout the current season.
“It’s been a difficult year, a year of learning. But I want to finish strongly so that we can go into 2027 fighting for the championship.”
The message from Zak Brown is therefore one of determination despite McLaren’s disappointing results. The team recognises that its current level is not where it wants to be, but believes the lessons learned during 2026 can help it prepare for a stronger championship challenge next season.
For McLaren, the closing races will provide an opportunity to demonstrate progress before attention turns fully to 2027. After a season marked by fluctuating performance and internal tensions, the objective is clear: finish the year more competitively and establish the foundations for another Formula 1 title fight.
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