AUSTIN — At Thursday's FIA press conference, McLaren driver Lando Norris declared that regardless of how the season ends, this will be a year to be proud of for himself and McLaren.
On Friday, his boss echoed similar sentiments.
At an FIA press conference here in Austin on Friday, McLaren CEO Zak Brown revealed whether McLaren would win the F1 constructors' championship and whether Norris would overtake Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship. Regardless of whether he can do it or not, he outlined that 2024 was “a great year.” This year for McLaren.
“It's been a great season,” Brown said in Abu Dhabi when asked what he thought of the season. “We won five races. 14… 15 consecutive podiums. So, regardless of the result, it's a difficult sport and we have great competitors, so one or both championships. Regardless of where they end up, I think it has to be said that all McLaren men and women did a great job over the course of the five races, both in terms of wins and the number of podiums achieved by both drivers.
“So we will definitely look back on this year with pride in what we accomplished.”
Brawn has been asked numerous times about the team's chances in both championships, citing the talented F1 field as the reason he is always looking in the “rearview mirror”.
“We are clearly leading in the constructors' championship so we need to continue that. Red Bull is not far behind and I think Ferrari might be the fastest team based on what we saw this morning. So we I think they're worried about both,” Brown outlined.
“And in the Drivers' Championship, Max is a great racing driver, so when he's having a bad day, he tends to be second or third. And we need Lando to win a lot of races, and Max has two You have to have an abnormally bad day, worse than or 3. Because even if Rand goes and wins everything and Max comes second in everything, I still don't think you'll get the job done. Because I don't think so.
“So it’s going to be a little bit tougher.
“With so many races having to be cancelled, we must continue to do what we can to support.” [Lando] And I hope you get one, if not both. ”
Brown described the atmosphere around McLaren as the team heads into this crucial final stretch as “desperate to get back on the track”, but pointed out that the message to the team was fairly simple.
Keep doing what you're doing.
“Keep doing what you have to do, keep doing what you're doing, and it's working,” Brown said when asked about his message to the team going forward.
“So I don’t see any reason to change what got us here and keep our heads down by doing something different than what we’ve always done, because how quickly this sport can change. We recognize that,” Brown continued.
McLaren currently leads Red Bull by 41 points in the constructors' championship, with Norris trailing Verstappen with 52 points in the drivers' championship. However, with six Grand Prix races remaining and three F1 sprint races remaining, neither title is close to being decided.
