After their F1 Singapore GP points racked up, Zak Brown and the rest of the McLaren team welcomed their second Constructors’ Championship win. This victory started a streak of consecutive team titles for McLaren. In a recent statement from the team, the CEO spoke of the keys to their success.
With six races left in the Formula 1 calendar, McLaren has already accumulated enough points between their two drivers to claim victory. At 650 points, the other teams could not challenge them anymore. Their biggest competitors — Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes — are all under the 325 points mark. Compared to last year, the gap between the Papaya team and Ferrari was only 14 points.
The teamwork that went into back-to-back wins
McLaren’s campaign to reclaim the title in the Constructors’ would not have been possible without the minds of so many individuals. Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO, attributed their success in the Constructors’ Championship to the employees:
“That’s what has driven our success. Primarily, the people who gave us our race car at the beginning of 2023 are the same people who have delivered back-to-back Championships.”
This teamwork that Brown is referring to can be reflected in the way the team makes decisions. During these two years of their dominance, the topic of “Papaya Rules” came up a lot. These directives are meant to keep their drivers from any major collisions in their battle for the world championship. McLaren has prided itself on deciding against picking a first driver, instead prioritising both.
The testaments of hard work
The year 2025, in particular, was incredibly special for the F1 team and their Championship efforts. During this current season, McLaren Racing recorded its highest number of 1-2 finishes since 1998. Moreover, they set a new record for most podiums during a single season. These results and the two Constructors’ Championship titles, according to Brown, are proof of McLaren’s competitiveness and combined effort:
“That demonstrates what it’s possible to get out of people when the environment is right and you have great leadership, teamwork, and an awesome culture,” explained the McLaren CEO.
“Formula 1 has never been more competitive. Even the worst team in Formula 1 is a great racing team. The competition is so fierce. The level of dominance we’ve displayed through the majority of the season is what you hope for. But it’s impossible to go into a season and expect that.
“To win back-to-back Championships is a testament to the hard work that every single person at McLaren has done at the factory and at the race track. That includes our Team Principal, Andrea Stella, the senior leadership team. And, of course, we couldn’t have done it without our two awesome racing drivers, Lando and Oscar.”
The current era at McLaren Racing
In the modern era of racing and motorsport, McLaren started on a path similar to their previous winning streaks. When asked to compare this current era with its predecessors, the CEO highlighted the timing of it all. Brown went on to reflect on McLaren’s fast turnaround that led to their first F1 Constructors’ Championship title.
“It’s hard to rank it because McLaren’s had unbelievable success over the years. There have been a lot of eras of dominance in McLaren’s history. And it’s hard to compare ’24 and ’25 with ‘88, ’89, ’90, and ’91, when we were winning everything.
“What I think is the fascinating part of this story is where we came from in such a short period of time. From effectively being one of the slowest cars at the beginning of ’23 to turning that around and producing a Championship-winning car just 12 months later is unheard of. I think that’s what makes this story unique and special. How quickly we went from being at the back of the grid to the front.”
The Piastri vs Norris battle
Despite this success, McLaren cannot rest easy just yet. Both of their drivers are currently in a tight battle in their own championship. And the most recent results have them questioning whether Max Verstappen, who holds his place in P3, will become an issue.
While Brown believes Verstappen is still an active threat, his confidence when it comes to his drivers remains unfaltered. Nevertheless, the F1 Constructors’ Championship victory will not change the way McLaren approaches race weekends, says Brown:
“While we’d like it to solely come down to our two guys, Max [Verstappen] is still very much in the game. I think what has been key is that the team have remained so focused. But also very humble. So, we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” explained the McLaren CEO.
“Our strategy isn’t going to change because we’ve won the Constructors’. We’re going to approach the remaining race weekends in the same way we’ve approached every one before it.”
