McLaren has had an unworldly rise back to the podium after looking like a backmarker team at the start of the season. Many suggest that the step up is because of the changes made by the team in recent times. However, these changes were faced with a lot of backlash as well. As a key McLaren member’s ouster takes a controversial turn, Zak Brown shifts the blame on Andrea Stella. 

Zak Brown explained how he wasn’t happy with the team’s performance in the second of the season last year. As a result, a massive restructuring was put in place that saw McLaren getting rid of some of the most important members of its team and introducing some new ones. Technical head James Key was one of those names.

Brown was recently asked about James Key’s departure from the team and asked whether it was a voluntary departure or if was he fired from the team. Zak Brown, not ready to take any blame on his shoulders, put the gun on the McLaren TP’s shoulder and fired it. 

Zak Brown said, “I think a restructuring was necessary. Once Andrea had identified what was necessary to move forward there was no longer a role for James with us. It is the result of a restructuring. We don’t have a single technical person.”

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Whoever might be responsible for the firing, the important thing from the team’s perspective is that McLaren is doing well. However, Brown didn’t only put Stella in charge of the firing but also accredited him for making the performance speak for themselves.

Zak Brown praises Andrea Stella for keeping it low-key 

McLaren would’ve seen the gain in their performances way before the upgrades came to the track. However, the Papaya team, especially Andrea Stella, stayed lowkey about it. And then when the team brought upgrades in Austria, all hell broke loose as McLaren suddenly became podium challengers.

According to ESPN, Zak Brown said, “All credit to Andrea for putting it out there and not making bold predictions, not making race performance predictions, he was simply saying ‘We think our development is going to be good’. He put it out there than all eyes were on us for Austria and we delivered.”

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What do you make of Zak Brown’s latest comment?