Business of Sport Ep.47: Zak Brown, CEO @ McLaren Racing, ‘We Race for Trophies, not Money’

Today we speak to a man who needs little introduction. Zak Brown is the CEO of McLaren Racing, one of Formula One’s most iconic brands and a team currently undergoing a resurgence as it challenges at the top of both the Drivers and Constructors Championships after years of struggling to match the success of Mercedes and Red Bull.

Turning an organisation round and re-establishing a culture of success is no easy task, and Zak has been under no illusion that to reach the top of one of the most competitive and scrutinised sports in the world, you need to be exceptional. 

F1 is a landscape of marginal gains. What does Zak attribute the success of McLaren to this year and how does he plan to build on this to get his two drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri challenging for the Championship in his cars.

We were honoured to be hosted by the amazing McLaren team at their incredible offices for this recording, and we are so grateful to Zak for giving us his time in one of the busiest parts of his calendar as the season draws to a close. I really hope you enjoy hearing from one of sports' top executives. 

On today’s show we discuss:

Finances of F1:

• ‘Every team is worth at least £1bn’. What has made these businesses so valuable and how have they managed to build better performance off better financial structures?
• Profitability in F1 is now something that spreads across the grid rather than being an outcome enjoyed by the lucky few. How has this happened?
• What are the key revenue streams of an F1 team? What sits centrally with the governing body and what can the teams generate individually?
• How does sponsorship work and who would Zak’s dream partner be for McLaren?
• What has the cost cap done for the sport and why was it necessary to introduce it in the first place?

Developing Great Drivers:

• What has made Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri so effective this year and what makes them stand out from the competition?
• Has Oscar Piastri developed quicker than the team expected and how do you integrate a young driver into the setup without exerting too much pressure?
• Can you have two number one drivers? 
• The importance of building respect and parity in the relationship between executive, garage, and driver.
• How much success is attributed to the driver, and how much is the car?

The Importance of People

• Why does Zak attribute much of the success of the team to the culture of the organisation?
• How do you build a great culture? It is something often talked about but hard to execute and maintain?
• What is it about McLaren that makes it such a great place to work? How do you retain staff to ensure continuity in the team?

A huge thank you to our amazing partners:

WSC Sports 

https://wsc-sports.com/

Tyndall Investment Management 

https://tyndallim.co.uk/