McLaren CEO Zak Brown has claimed he wouldn’t be surprised to see a team outside the top four win a race in a 2025 Formula 1 season that he is backing to be “epic”.
The Woking-based squad is approaching the upcoming campaign as the reigning champions having beaten rivals Ferrari to the Constructors’ title in the recent season.
McLaren and Ferrari scrapped it out until the final race, while Red Bull, even amid a drop to third, experienced more success as Max Verstappen retained the Drivers’ crown.
Mercedes also took several race victories despite languishing a distant fourth, ending the campaign a sizeable 374 points above Aston Martin located one spot back in fifth.
Indeed, it wasn’t until a soaking wet race in Brazil in November that a driver outside the leading quartet was on the podium, when the Alpine pairing accompanied Verstappen.
But with the regulations remaining stable and at a mature stage, Brown is predicting that a side outside the established pack could spring a shock and win a race this season.
“We’d like to go for the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ World Championship,” Brown told media including Motorsport Week at the F1 75 season launch event in London.
“And why not be greedy and have that be 1-2. And let Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] decide who’s 1 and who’s 2. So that’s our collective goal.
“I think this season should be epic and even closer than last year. So I’m anticipating eight different winners. I think this year we had seven. Four teams won. Wouldn’t be surprised with how competitive it is.
“Every weekend last year, while the top four teams were always at the front, there always seemed to be someone that was able to disrupt. So I expect that to be happening again.
“So I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than four teams that won. So I think we’re in store for an epic Formula 1 season.”
Norris expecting converged 2025 grid
Norris concurred with Brown’s suspicion as he expressed that it was a shame that the field spread will open back up again when new regulations are introduced next season.
“I think it’s everyone’s expectation from probably within Formula 1,” the Briton said. “Every year rules don’t change, every time regulations don’t change, it gets closer and closer, that’s the way it’s always worked.
“It already got pretty close at the end of last year. I think you already started to see the middle pack, which is the back half of most of the grid apart from the top four teams. The six other teams, you’ve already started to see them catching up and getting closer and closer. I probably only expect that to be even more the case over the winter and probably into this season.
“So I think you’re probably going to have this season some winners that aren’t top four teams, that aren’t McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull, which I think is good for Formula 1, it’s good for the fans, it’s good for the whole sport.
“It’s a shame that it all changes in 2026, because I’m expecting it to be a good season and tough for all of us.
“So yeah, I’m looking forward to it, because I think it’s not going to be just a fight of the usual.”
McLaren not ‘taking anything for granted’
Brown highlighted the innovative approach McLaren has taken to the MCL39, which ran in a shakedown last week, as evidence that the team isn’t resting on its laurels in 2025.
“It’s been an enjoyable off-season, but a very busy off-season,” the American addressed.
“We took a little bit of time to celebrate, but the teams, you celebrate Sunday night, then Monday, you’re kind of right back to work.
“So we definitely feel, in a positive way, the pressure of being a World Championship team. We’re definitely not taking anything for granted.
“We see a few tenths can make a huge swing. We see how much pace we’ve found in 12 months, so we know others are definitely capable of doing that.
“So we’re just head down, very focused, not taking anything for granted, working very hard, but working really well together.
“The environment at the factory is pretty awesome. We’re pushing each other hard.
“There’s a lot of innovation on the racing cars, so we’ve not stood still. We’ve got nine teams that aren’t sitting still either.”
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