Zak Brown sets next McLaren mission in Lando Norris title warning

McLaren won the 2024 title - will it be Lando Norris's turn in 2025?
McLaren Racing had a stunning Formula 1 season in 2024, with a Miami upgrade package turning the tides and cementing the team as the one to beat right up through Abu Dhabi.
With a World Constructors’ Championship under its belt for the first time in over two decades, McLaren is sure to enter 2025 on a high note — but what’s next for the Woking-based team? Zak Brown might have an idea.
McLaren targeting Constructors’, Drivers’ championships in 2025
McLaren didn’t expect its 2024 Formula 1 season to be quite as good as it became.
See, with Zak Brown at the helm of McLaren Racing and Andrea Stella piloting the outfit as team principal, there was no doubt in the team’s mind that it had the foundation necessary to mount a challenge for the championship. It just didn’t expect it to happen in 2024.
Brown and Stella have both admitted that, despite the team being on an upward trajectory, they expected to be fighting Red Bull and Max Verstappen for both the World Constructors’ Championship and the World Drivers’ Championship in the next few years —?not partway through 2024.
But when McLaren introduced an upgrade package in Miami, the season turned around. Lando Norris took his first Grand Prix victory, and the team’s consistency saw it sneak into the lead of the WCC.
Though Norris wasn’t able to topple Verstappen’s dominance, the team itself prevailed to take home a championship for the first time in 26 years.
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1 immediately after the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown had nothing but praise for Norris.
“That race, he carried us,” Brown said. “Not making any mistakes.
“We were worried about safety cars. I was worried about everything. He drove flawlessly, as he’s done.”
At that point, Brown took a moment to make a bold prediction about where he intends for his team to finish in 2025.
“Next, [we’re] trying to repeat constructors’ and get the drivers’,” Brown said.
“I’ll let Oscar and Lando figure that one out.”
At the close of the year, Norris vowed that 2025 was going to be “his” year, staking his claim on the WDC well in advance. Asked about Norris’ confidence by Sky Sports F1, Brown seemed to feel the same way.
“He’s gonna give it all he’s got, and given the momentum he’s on, I wouldn’t bet against him,” Brown said.
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