Zak Brown deserves all the credit after turning around McLaren’s ‘significant’ woes behind the scenes

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McLaren are on course to become double world champions in 2025. It would cap off a dramatic turnaround from the Woking outfit in recent years.

McLaren grabbed the constructors’ title in 2024, marking their first in 26 years. Now, in 2025, they look set to defend that championship and claim the drivers’ title, with Oscar Piastri leading teammate Lando Norris by 25 points with seven races to go.

The team had the chance to wrap up the constructors’ championship at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but they suffered their worst weekend of the season. Piastri crashed on lap one, while Norris suffered a slow pit stop and struggled to make up ground, finishing P7.

Despite this, the constructors’ title looks all but guaranteed for McLaren as they lead Mercedes by 333 points. Their main focus will be on the drivers’ title, with Piastri and Norris looking to win the team’s first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

These statements would have sounded completely outrageous to McLaren a few years ago. The Woking outfit had been in dire straits during the mid-2010s as their very existence was put under threat.

Zak Brown deserves serious credit as James Vowles recalls McLaren’s ‘significant financial trouble’

McLaren are one of F1’s most historic teams, with 201 wins and 12 drivers’ championships since their debut in 1966. But by 2015, they were backmarkers on the grid with incompetent Honda engines.

The fallout was catastrophic, as the team’s sponsorships dried up and the workforce was desperately unmotivated as they switched to Renault engines in 2018.

CEO Zak Brown faced a torrid situation, explaining to The New York Times that McLaren were ‘on the brink’ of collapse in 2020. Williams boss James Vowles recalled the Woking outfit’s ‘significant financial trouble’ while speaking on Business of Sport.

“You spoke about history before. I never got into it: Heritage,” he said. “We have heritage that still puts us top three in the sport, that’s definitely a part of it, without question.

“Then there’s current success. There is no doubt about it that Mercedes and McLaren have higher values than we do.

“And McLaren didn’t approximately three years ago. That’s performance-based more than anything else. They were, almost four years ago, in quite significant financial trouble, actually as a result of things.

“Why are they where they are today? They’ve still got a great heritage, but they were a winning entity and recently just carved off a shareholding at a lovely little number that sort of gives you a value as to where they are.”

To go from the back of the grid with a disillusioned team and near bankruptcy to champions is a remarkable achievement that Brown should be recognised for. It has taken years of sacrifice to rebuild such a desperate situation, and he deserves all the credit for the turnaround in form.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

McLaren have dramatically improved performance over the last decade

In 2025, McLaren are better than ever, currently valued at £2.1bn. Their championship position was unfeasible not even two years ago, as they struggled with underdeveloped machinery at the start of 2023.

The turnaround in form has been dramatic from Brown and everyone within the team. After scoring a double podium at the 2015 Australian GP, McLaren did not score another until Carlos Sainz finished third in Brazil in 2019.

Daniel Ricciardo’s win at Monza in 2021 was their first since Jenson Button at Sao Paulo in 2012, highlighting the sheer scale of their improvement as they sit on 12 wins out of 17 races thus far in 2025.

With Piastri and Norris on board, the Woking outfit have what they need to challenge in 2026 under the new technical regulations. But McLaren face a ‘terrifying’ problem as they debate when to shift focus to next season and wonder whether they can remain the dominant force in F1.