"We were months away; wasn’t a comfortable place": Zak Brown reveals how McLaren's F1 survival hinged on a £185 million crucial investment
With McLaren chasing its first constructors' title since 1998, CEO Zak Brown recalled a tough time when his team faced a financial crisis in 2020. Brown revealed that a £185 million cash injection from MSP Sports Capital helped the Papaya team recover. This helped them improve the infrastructure at their technology centre in Woking, England. The deal fueled McLaren's resurgence from being a mid-field team to being a title contender within two seasons.
As quoted by The Athletic, Zak Brown disclosed that McLaren was mere months away from going broke during the Covid-hit 2020 season. A major investment was the need of the hour. The Papaya team thus made a conscious decision to sell sizeable team shares to an American-based sports investment group, MSP Sports Capitals. The deal, valued at £185 million, injected financial stability and ensured that McLaren's progress remained unaffected by the crunch.
“We were definitely on the brink. We were paying all our bills. But we were months away, and not several months, from … We knew we could make it through the year. But we were in a situation where if we didn’t have a cash injection, we would have been a risk at (not) starting the year," said Zak Brown.
Regardless of the serious situation, Zak Brown always had the backing of McLaren stakeholders. He said the team was on the brink of a collapse while he had to keep the spirits high among members.
“I needed to protect the team from them being aware so everyone could remain in the very positive, energetic spirits they were bringing because the team was progressing nicely. It wasn’t a comfortable place at all," he added.
“I could put my head on a pillow at night knowing they would back us up if they have to. But it was going to be the ninth innings, to use a baseball term, before they brought in the relief pitcher," the CEO added.
McLaren then advanced from the midfield to the ending of a nine-year winless streak in 2021. Not only did the team jump several positions in the constructors' race, but Lando Norris also emerged as the second-best driver to defending champion Max Verstappen. It was only after the penultimate race in Las Vegas that Norris bowed out of the championship race.
With Verstappen officially crowned as World Champion this season, McLaren's focus shifts solely to securing the constructors' title: something the British-based team hasn't achieved in the past 26 years.
Zak Brown's honest reaction to the soul-crushing Constructors Championship outcome
With the final round to go in the eventful 2024 F1 season, McLaren leads the constructors' title race with 21 points. Speaking to The Athletic, Brown admitted that losing the championship would be soul-crushing not only for the drivers but for the entire team working behind closed doors in Woking.
But at the same time, he understands the importance of reflecting on the progress and milestones. The CEO added that from dodging insolvency to winning five races to fighting toe-to-toe with Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, the team has come a long way.
“Of course, we’ll be massively disappointed to not win it. But if that unfortunately happens, we need to shift quickly to look at what we’ve done this year and where we’ve come from. We’ve come from the brink of insolvency to five race wins, second-most amount of podiums consecutively in the history of McLaren, gone down to the last race against Ferrari, have beat Red Bull and Mercedes," he further added.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished P1 and P2, respectively, at the qualifying session on Saturday, whereas their direct competitors, Ferrari, are riding on one wheel. Carlos Sainz managed to qualify P3, but Charles Leclerc has taken a 10-place grid penalty, and is forced to start the race from P19.