McLaren's biggest challenge right now revealed to F1 insider by Zak Brown

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has reportedly revealed to F1 insider Simon Lazenby that his "biggest challenge" now is keeping the band together at the team. The 53-year-old is looking to avoid a situation where some of his best talent is poached by other teams in the coming years, because of how successful they have been.

McLaren secured their second consecutive constructors' championship at the recently concluded Singapore Grand Prix with six rounds of the 2025 season to go. Apart from Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and team boss Andrea Stella, the team's CEO Zak Brown has also played a pivotal role in turning the Papaya team's fortunes around in the past few years.

Now, McLaren sits in a comfortable position at the top of F1, having won back-to-back teams' titles for the first time since 1991, which was in an era when the team dominated. But amid this success, Zak Brown has revealed what he believes to be his biggest challenge as the company's boss in the coming years.

Speaking on the Sky F1 podcast recently, Simon Lazenby has revealed that Brown told him that retaining key personnel at the team for a long time will be his biggest challenge now and going forward.

"I spoke to Zak earlier this year, he said the biggest challenge he’s got now is not to break the band up, because it’s happened to all of the great teams in the past [including] Mercedes and Red Bull," said Lazenby. "When you’re on top, people start to poach your best people. I’m sure he’s locked them all down contractually, because he’s got a very decent Band of Brothers, and sisters, at the moment," he added.

At the moment, key management personnel at the Woking-based team include the likes of team principal Andrea Stella, technical director of aerodynamics Peter Prodromou, and chief designer Rob Marshall. These three are currently secured on long term contracts with the team.

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Pundit praises McLaren's "culture and environment"

The McLaren team celebrating their constructors' title win after the Singapore Grand Prix - Source: Getty

F1 pundit and former three-time W series winner Jamie Chadwick has praised the culture and environment within the McLaren F1 setup, claiming it is one of the most important factors behind a successful team. The Briton also added that people working at the Papaya team have told her that they are enjoying their work and are happy.

Speaking on the aforementioned podcast, Chadwick shared what she feels is one of McLaren's biggest strengths.

"You can be winning, but the culture and the environment cannot be nice and not be somewhere that you want to come into work. You want to succeed and you want everyone to win," said Chadwick. "So I think that’s what they do a very, very good job of. It’s funny, you speak to most people that work there and they enjoy it, and they’re happy," she added.

Chadwick also added that staying at the top should also remain a priority for McLaren. This is because winning is also an important factor in keeping team morale high, according to the 27-year-old.

Edited by Mitali