McLaren boss Zak Brown recalls Martin Brundle's helpful advice during his first year with team in Formula 1

McLaren boss Zak Brown recalls the advice veteran Formula 1 journalist Martin Brundle gave him in his first year in the sport. Brundle told the American that he could not be everyone's friend in F1, given the competitive aspect of the sport.

Brown was the executive director of the McLaren Technology Group before being promoted to CEO of the Woking-based team in 2018. The new role meant the American had to call the shots regarding the team's F1 campaigns, meaning he went from being a friendly businessman to a fierce competitor.

The 51-year-old revealed that Brundle helped him imbibe this new competitive attitude, which was tested immensely in 2022 as the team had to fight over F2 champion Oscar Piastri's future.

The McLaren CEO said of Martin Brundle on the Marshall Pruett podcast:

“When I took over running McLaren, my background is I worked with all these teams and leagues, lots of them. And in the business I was in before, I also needed to be a bit of Switzerland, because I was doing business with everyone and there wasn’t a competitive element if you’d like between me and the various teams."

"And I remember my first year at Spa, Martin Brundle gave me some advice, and it stuck with me. There was inappropriate language, so I won’t repeat exactly what he said, but he effectively told me that I was going to have to change my style from being everyone’s friend in pit-lane, to being pretty competitive and tough."

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Max Verstappen's dominance didn't make 2022 F1 season boring, claims McLaren boss Zak Brown

McLaren boss Zak Brown believes that the 2022 F1 season was not 'boring' despite Max Verstappen's dominance throughout the campaign. Despite Red Bull Racing's clear advantage over the rest of the field, especially in the second half of 2022, the American felt that the races were all exciting.

Brown told the media:

“It certainly seems like the racing has been better. I think everyone was concerned that cars were going to look the same. They certainly don't. There's a lot of different concepts. I think the new regulations always need refining, but I think we got it pretty right. And the racing has been very exciting this year."

He added:

"Given the dominance of Max, it doesn't feel like it's been a boring season, even if the results on paper, you would think it would be boring. But I think all the races have been very exciting.”

Max Verstappen secured his second F1 title with four races to go. Despite the Dutchman's record-breaking performance in 2022, Brown claimed that the new regulations allowed for closer racing in the midfield, leading to exciting battles all around the grid.