BROWN GIVES VERDICT ON MCLAREN DEBATE: 'WON'T REPLICATE THAT'

Zak Brown did not attend the Hungarian Grand Prix due to other racing commitments in Canada but did watch the events unfold. After reflecting on it during the week between Hungary and Belgium, he promises the team will not replicate part of the procedure again. He also explains why he was happy to see Norris wait.

Piastri beat pole-sitter Norris into the first corner and controlled the race from there. That was until McLaren opted to pit the trailing car first, thus giving the British driver an undercut on his teammate. McLaren asked Norris to swap the order back around. After some firm messages over the team radio, Norris eventually obliged in the late stages of the race.

Team principal Andrea Stella immediately reflected on the situation after the Hungarian Grand Prix, explaining that the process within the team was followed correctly. Brown, McLaren CEO, has now weighed in on the situation.

"The team did a great job. We got there in the end. A little bit of drama along the way. We're still young at this team, we're still learning. That was the first time we've been in that situation. We've learned and we won't replicate. It [the overtake] didn't happen until too late. We'll learn from it and be stronger for it," Brown told Sky Sports.

Why Brown was happy Norris left it until late

Brown wanted the change to happen but suggested it made it less stressful. "They were free to race. Had he made that change of position right away, we had 20/21 laps of racing to go. Part of me is actually happy they didn't race because that would have been 21 laps of biting my nails, which I tend to do anyway. [We wouldn't have allowed racing] until the flag. Swapping right away and then let him have a go. We would've let him have his crack at it," Brown concluded.

2024-07-26T13:21:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd