Brown: I have to give ourselves a 1 out of 10

McLaren chief Zak Brown is not one to mince his words and in a recent interview acknowledged that his team performed well below par in 2017, but at the same time is upbeat that next year will see a turnaround in fortunes for the sport’s second most successful team as it enters an important new era.

Asked by Auto Motor und Sport to score McLaren’s season, Brown was brutally honest in his response, “If you just rate the results, then I have to give ourselves a 1 out of 10. We finished ninth in the world championship…”

But at the same time, he also mentioned the positives, “It was a great season in terms of teamwork, team morale, our Indy 500 adventure, our fan base and the continued existence of our driver pairing. If we look back on this year’s McLaren story, we’ll probably want to delete it, but we may also say that it is the start of a new era.”

Much has been written about the failings of McLaren-Honda. The first two years were a nightmare for the partnership, but things got worse in 2017 as reliability and performance were glaringly elusive.

Honda opted for a revolutionary new design concept to address the problems they had with their first power unit and related components, but the writing was on the wall early on in the programme.

Brown recalled, “The first signs were there before testing, data was not promising. Then, after the first test with several engine changes, we realized that this was a big problem. There was something fundamentally wrong and there was no quick fix.”

“At this stage, we considered how to get out of there as quick as possible. We considered all options on the table: take a break, change the engine partner, ask other engine manufacturers to work with Honda.”

“We went through all the scenarios, but none of them was workable. During the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, we made the decision: It was time for another engine.”

At this stage, Brown had just taken over as McLaren chief and explained, “I was new to the team and had to gain experience first. What surprised me the most is that I did not have to motivate the boys. They always give everything.”

“That’s the culture of this team. That’s why they have won so many world championships. Of course, we also knew that every bit of development this year will pay off next season. The team around Eric Boullier did a great job. Everything we developed in the factory worked well on the race track.”

Although engine development was out of their hands, McLaren produced a handy chassis in the MCL32 which many believe was as good as the best on the grid.

Brown pointed out, “With GPS measurements you can predict with 90 percent accuracy where you would be if you had more engine power. We could measure how much time we lost on the straights.”

“However what we don’t know is how the aerodynamics would work if we were cornering at 10 kph faster. Nevertheless, we had a good feeling of how we would perform with more power, but the truth is that this can only be validated on track.”

With the Honda era now behind them, a future with Renault is now the reality. But in 2017 the French manufacturer still lagged behind Mercedes and Ferrari when it came to performance, while reliability was at times woeful.

Brown downplayed concerns, “It is not more of a worry than it would have been with any other engine partner. Anyone who develops at the limit must accept the risks.”

“We look on the bright side: Max Verstappen dominated the Mexican Grand Prix with a Renault engine. Renault knows the problems and they know what they have to do. I am happy that they are doing development work now and not at the beginning of next year.”

Brown also shed light on the delicate situation of managing the team’s volatile and ambitious star driver Fernando Alonso, as well as highly rated rookie Stoffel Vandoorne.

“Both were frustrated,” declared Brown. “Every now and then, they showed it too. We had to understand that athletes show emotions, but their criticism was never destructive.”

“They always fought hard despite the disappointments. Stoffel could live with the situation because he knew his first season would be a year of apprenticeship. It was worse for Fernando because he wanted to win but it did not work out. I think Fernando is the best and most complete race driver in the world.”

“Stoffel had a very difficult season as a rookie because of reliability issues, he did not get to drive as much as he should. He had to learn many new things. Nevertheless, he was very close to Fernando in the second half of the season, even faster on some tracks. He is a great racer. We are happy with him.”

Young Lando Noris is being touted as ‘the next big thing’ in the sport, Brown declared, “Lando is the greatest young talent in motorsport and an upcoming Formula 1 star. That’s why I’m not afraid of the future.”

“We have a very good car, we look forward to our new engine, we have three excellent drivers, the full support of our shareholders and a racing team that is hungry. For me, the new season could start tomorrow,” concluded Brown.

Big Question: Will Mclaren return to the podium next season?