Brown says McLaren workplace was highly toxic when he joined in 2016

Zak Brown says he found a highly toxic working environment at McLaren when he joined in 2016, attributing it to discord among senior leaders and a lack of leadership.

In an interview with RACER, the McLaren chief executive recalled that the team had five different bosses in six years. Brown said the constant turnover left staff unsure whom to follow, eroded trust and encouraged people to protect themselves and blame colleagues rather than work together.

Brown also blamed the working environment for poor on-track results, a shortage of sponsors, weak fan engagement and a dissatisfied workforce. He said he replaced the entire leadership team, aligned management and set out to rebuild trust and communication. His plans included rebuilding sponsorship and investing in technology and new wind tunnels.

Brown called changing the team’s culture his most important achievement and described it as centred on trust, transparency, collaboration, high performance and open communication. McLaren won constructors’ titles in 2024 and 2025, while Lando Norris took the drivers’ title in 2025.