Brown reduces expectations, sees McLaren success 'years away'

McLaren boss Zak Brown has downsized the team's expectations, admitting a return of the Woking-based outfit to the front of the grid will likely be years in the making.

In stark contrast to last years' ambitious projections, which included McLaren regularly fighting for podiums in 2018, Brown is now reverting to a cautious approach to the future.

Yesterday, McLaren announced significant changes to its leadership structure, with Eric Boullier stepping down from his role as sporting director and the team recruiting on a full-time basis advisor Gil de Ferran as its new sporting director.

Andrea Stella has been promoted to performance director while chief operating officer Simon Roberts will oversee production, engineering and logistics.

The management changes have been swift, but the turn-around will take considerable time warns Brown.

"This is going to take some time to fix," he said.

"I think we are years away. I don't know if that's two or 10, or somewhere in between. Probably more like somewhere in between, but I don't want to get into predictions.

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"I think we have to be very realistic and honest with ourselves, with our fans, with you, to say that this is going to be a journey.

"I think everyone needs to recognise that. I think we had a good finish in the last race relative to where we started, but we were uncompetitive," he added.

"Not much has changed since last race, so I think everyone needs to not starting having too high expectations, ourself included, at Silverstone, because all that has really happened is five or six days have gone by."

Brown explained that McLaren's structural changes were undertaken in part to allow for a faster decision process, something the team has crucially lacked.

"The structure is not allowing certain individuals to be as entrepreneurial as I would like them to be," he said.

"It has not enabled them to make decisions quickly enough, I think sometimes there is an appropriate time for decision by committee and then I think there are also times when it should be decisions by individuals, and at times our decision making process and the speed in which we make decisions get gridlocked.

"That needs to be change and I think our biggest issue has been structural and organisational.

"There is great talent that we need to unleash that in the current environment has not been able to blossom.

"Also, bringing in people from the outside that have other experiences to help contribute to shaping a quicker, faster organisation."

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