Zak Brown: “We didn’t deserve to be at the Indy 500”

Zak Brown reacted in an interview with the agency AP News on Fernando Alonso's disqualification at Indy 500 last Sunday. While the double world champion attracts attention with his goal of winning the “Triple Crown”, this severe setback has shocked the team McLaren as evidenced by the departure of Bob Fernley in his capacity as director of the Indianiapolis project.

“I don’t think we came in arrogantly. We simply weren't prepared enough, commented Zak Brown. We didn't deserve to be in the race and it's all our fault. It's not like we did our best. We have lost ourselves. »

McLaren nevertheless made a strong impression during its last participation in the Indy 500 in 2017 since Fernando Alonso had been fighting for victory before retiring with a mechanical problem. His crash during testing for the 103rd edition last Wednesday disrupted the team's schedule, but mistakes had been made before, such as when the car was not ready for testing at Texas Motor Speedway last month.

“We only received the steering wheel (made by Cosworth) mid-day, it hadn't been prepared in time. It is a lack of preparation and organizational skills in project management, Zak Brown said. This is where the problem lies, in project management. It's not Zak Brown's job to handle the shuttlecocks. »

Zak Brown also made his mea culpa by conceding that the activities in F1 were difficult to combine with a program in Indy.

“I should have been closer to the project, but you can't compromise with F1. When we weren't on track at 9:01 a.m. for the start of practice, that's when we missed qualifying. We didn't sound the alarm early enough because we could have recovered from that first try. I blame myself because I was uncomfortable with the way these first tests went and I should have followed my instinct by getting more involved... In any case there will be consequences for those who do not deserve working in a team like McLaren…”

McLaren had joined forces with Carlin for this new participation, but neither Max Chilton nor Patricio O'Ward managed to qualify.