McLaren's Brown: 'Red Bull understandably upset about losing Key'

©WRI

Zak Brown believes that Red Bull is upset about the prospect of losing Toro Rosso technical director James Key, but the McLaren boss is adamant the British engineer will be heading to Woking sooner rather than later.

Following McLaren's announcement last week of Key's recruitment, Red Bull's Helmut Marko responded by saying that Toro Rosso's lead engineer had a contract running until 2020 with the Faenza-based outfit.

The opposing forces are now engaged in a stand-off. However, a confident Brown is sticking to his guns.

Toro Rosso at odds with McLaren on James Key's appointment!

"We have hired James Key, he will become our technical director," said Brown in Hungary.

"We do not have a start date. He does have a current agreement with Toro Rosso, of course, we respect contractual situations.

"Toro Rosso and Red Bull are understandably upset that they’re losing a great talent like James Key.

"He’s recognised as one of the best technical directors up and down the pitlane, so we’re very excited to have him join us in due course."

©ToroRosso

While admitting to Key's contractual obligations with Toro Rosso, Brown insists a "plan" has been devised by McLaren to settle the matter.

"There’s always in the world of F1 ways and opportunities to change situations. We have a plan," said the McLaren executive.

"We obviously knew his current employment situation, and we’re completely comfortable working around that situation."

Brown also said that McLaren's current restructuring was a work in progress, with additional hires and internal promotions in the works.

"As we’ve stated before, we’ve done some restructuring, we’re doing some hiring, we’re not done yet, so we’re just head down, operating according to the internal plan that we have," he added.

"We’re not done yet, both with bringing in talent, and our final structure. We have a good sense of what we’re going to do, but that’s not something that we want to make public."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.