Zak Brown is the most polarizing man in the Formula 1 paddock. He’s the guy with the tattoos, the $50 million bonus, and a garage full of historic race cars that would make a museum curator weep. Honestly, depending on who you ask, he’s either the savior of McLaren or a "cringe" marketing machine who cares more about stickers on a car than the actual racing.
But the scoreboard doesn't lie.
As we roll into 2026, McLaren isn't just a "cool" team anymore. They are the benchmark. After clinching both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships in 2025, the narrative has shifted. It’s no longer about whether Zak Brown's Formula 1 strategy works—it’s about how he pulled off one of the greatest corporate and sporting resurrections in the history of the sport.
The Mess Zak Inherited (It Was Bad)
When Brown walked into the McLaren Technology Centre in late 2016, the vibe was... grim.
The team was in a death spiral with Honda. The cars were slow. Reliability was a joke. Commercially, the car was basically a blank white canvas because sponsors were fleeing like rats from a sinking ship. McLaren, the team of Senna and Prost, was finishing 9th in the standings.
Think about that.
Zak didn't start by fixing the front wing or the aero. He started by fixing the bank account. He’s a "commercial beast," a guy who founded JMI (the world’s largest motorsport marketing agency) before he ever took the big chair at Woking. He knew that without cash, you can’t hire the geniuses. And without geniuses, you’re just driving a very expensive lawnmower around a track in circles.
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Zak Brown Formula 1: The "No-Blame" Culture Shift
One of the weirdest things about F1 is how quickly teams turn on themselves when they lose. For years, McLaren blamed Honda. Then they blamed the chassis. Then they blamed the drivers.
Zak stopped that.
He implemented what he calls a "no-blame" culture. Basically, he wanted people to fail fast and be honest about it. He promoted Andrea Stella to Team Principal—a move that looked "safe" at the time but turned out to be a masterstroke. Stella is the quiet, technical genius; Zak is the loud, money-making shield.
This duo allowed the engineering team to actually innovate. They stopped looking over their shoulders. And while Zak was busy signing 50+ sponsors (including giants like Google, Mastercard, and OKX), the factory was finally building a car that didn't fall apart when it saw a curb.
The Driver Gamble: Piastri vs. Everyone
You can’t talk about Zak Brown's Formula 1 tenure without mentioning the "Oscar Piastri Heist" of 2022.
It was messy. Alpine thought they had Piastri. Zak knew they didn't. He snatched the young Australian right from under their noses, pairing him with Lando Norris. It was a ruthless move that led to a lot of legal drama and some very salty comments from rival team bosses.
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- Lando Norris: The homegrown hero who finally got his maiden title in 2025.
- Oscar Piastri: The "ice-cold" rookie who won 7 races in 2025 and pushed Lando to the literal edge.
- The Result: The strongest driver pairing on the grid, even if it causes Zak some massive headaches on the pit wall.
What Most People Get Wrong About Zak
There’s this idea that Zak is just a "marketing guy" who doesn't understand racing. That’s total nonsense. The man was a professional racer for a decade. He’s competed in Formula Ford, Opel-Lotus, and GT racing.
He speaks the language of the drivers.
When he tells Lando or Oscar to "go for it," he isn't speaking as a corporate suit; he’s speaking as a guy who’s spun out at Donington Park. That’s why his "management by tattoo" works. He promised the team a tattoo if they won a race. He’s got the Monza track on his arm now. He’s got the 2024/2025 championship marks.
Is it a bit "American"? Sure. Is it "cringe" to some European purists? Definitely. But does the team love it? Ask the mechanics who just pocketed championship bonuses.
The Business of Milliseconds
The financial turnaround is actually more impressive than the trophies. Forbes recently valued McLaren F1 at roughly $4.4 billion.
When Zak arrived, the team was facing literal insolvency. Now, they are the only team on the grid with a sponsorship roster so deep they don't even need a single title sponsor (though Mastercard took that slot for 2026). They’ve diversified into IndyCar, Formula E, and Extreme E, creating a "McLaren Racing" ecosystem that makes them less vulnerable to a single bad season in F1.
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Dealing With the 2026 Rule Changes
The 2026 season is a "clean sheet of paper." New engines. New aero. New everything.
Zak has been vocal about the risks here. He’s admitted that "someone is going to get it wrong." The challenge for Zak Brown's Formula 1 legacy is whether this success is a peak or a plateau. With Red Bull reeling from internal drama and Mercedes still playing catch-up, McLaren has the stability.
But stability is boring in F1. Zak knows that. He’s already fighting off other teams trying to poach his engineers, like Rob Marshall (who he famously nabbed from Red Bull).
Your Actionable Insights for Following the Zak Brown Era
If you’re trying to understand where McLaren goes from here, stop looking at the lap times and start looking at these three things:
- Retention: Watch if key technical staff stay. Zak says he wants to create an environment where they "don't even pick up the phone" when rivals call. If the engineers start leaving, the car will slow down.
- The "Papaya" Dynamics: Lando and Oscar are separated by 22 points. In 2025, they were separated by 13. This isn't a "Number 1 and Number 2" driver situation. It’s a civil war in orange. How Zak manages their egos will determine if they win more titles or crash into each other at Turn 1.
- Revenue vs. Innovation: Watch the sponsors. Zak is pushing for record commercial revenue, but that money has to go back into the 2026 car development within the budget cap.
Zak Brown isn't going anywhere. He’s rebuilt an icon in his own image—loud, fast, and incredibly profitable. Whether you love the "showman" or miss the "old McLaren," you have to respect the result. He took a team on life support and turned them into world champions.
Next time you see him on the grid with that "smug" grin, remember: he earned it. 17 years of waiting ended on his watch.
The 2026 season will prove if it was a fluke or a dynasty. Based on the way he’s structured the business, I wouldn’t bet against the guy with the tattoos.