Zak Brown shares his thoughts on WEC’s “challenging race” after Oscar Piastri’s F1 win

McLaren boss, Zak Brown, shared his thoughts on the challenging race for the United Autosports team in the World Endurance Championship post-Oscar Piastri's win at the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah over this weekend.

Brown took to X to show his support for his team, United Autosports, which he co-owns with former driver Richard Dean.

"A Challenging race for the United Autosport team in the 6 Hours of Imola. The #95 McLaren finished P9 with potential for more. The #59 came home P14 but with good points from Qatar, they stand third in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Next up, the 6 Hours of Spa. The LMGT3s had a strong race there last year … bring it on!" Zak Brown said via X.

Brown had a great evening at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this Sunday, with Oscar Piastri securing a great win after early drama and Lando Norris showcasing a great fightback from tenth by finishing fourth. The American praised his team for their performance at Jeddah on X.

"A great win for Oscar, and a strong fightback from Lando. That's the triple header wrapped up with a big haul of points. Mega job from the team both at track and back at base, but we keep pushing. Big shoutout to the Papaya Army for all the support. See you in Miami!" Zak Brown wrote on X.

McLaren has had a strong start to the 2025 season and has had arguably the fastest cars on the grid for the first five races.

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Zak Brown and Christian Horner share their views on Max Verstappen's penalty at Jeddah

Zak Brown shakes the hand of a Ferrari team member in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia - Source: Getty

After qualifying in pole position in Jeddah, Max Verstappen initially carried the lead on Sunday, but Piastri also launched well from second and was alongside the world champion before Verstappen had to take the run-off at the first corner.

Verstappen continued to lead after the incident, but was given a five-second time penalty by the stewards for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. This ultimately cost Verstappen the race, and he finished second. Zak Brown and Christian Horner had contrasting views about the incident after the race.

"Oscar’s a tough guy, and if he had a chance to go for the lead, frankly, it wasn’t any sort of divebomb; he clearly had the lead. He was up alongside, he got a better start. I think the penalty was appropriate – whether we should have just swapped positions versus the time being given, that’s up to the stewards to decide what they feel is appropriate," the McLaren CEO told F1 TV after the race.

The Red Bull team principal, on the other hand, defended his driver, offering an alternate perspective as he said:

"I don’t know where Max was supposed to go at that first corner. We’ve lost the race by 2.8 seconds, so yeah, it’s tough. I think the most positive thing for us today was the pace was there – it was a very positive race. Congrats to Oscar, but it’s disappointing not to get the win.” [via Sky Sports F1]

McLaren still leads the Constructors' Championship with 188 points to their name. However, Piastri has taken the lead from Norris in the Driver's Championship after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as we gear up for the next race at Miami.