Brown not dismissing ‘unpleasant surprise’ from Red Bull

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown has expressed his concern that Red Bull might spring an unexpected surprise and further extend their dominance in the upcoming Formula 1 season.

Red Bull has been the undisputed frontrunner since the introduction of the ground effect aero revolution in 2022, amassing a staggering 21 victories out of 22 races last year.

In contrast, McLaren endured a difficult start to the season with their MCL60 car proving to be woefully inadequate.

However, a series of mid-season upgrades transformed the team's fortunes, propelling them to become Red Bull's primary challenger.

Despite Red Bull's early decision to cease development on their title-winning RB19, Brown remains wary of the Austrian outfit's capabilities.

• Read also: Stella confident McLaren can carry momentum into 2024

The American warns that Red Bull could have made significant progress during the off-season, potentially leaving McLaren and the rest of the field struggling to match their pace.

“Clearly we want to continue to close the gap,” Brown told Motorsport.com. “We finished up last year as the second or third quickest team, depending on what circuit you were at.

“Car development has been strong, but Red Bull certainly seems like they didn’t develop last year to the level they could if they wanted to. So that could be an unpleasant surprise for all of us.”

Brown's concerns are understandable given Red Bull's track record of innovation and strategic brilliance.

Adding weight to Brown’s view, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella emphasized that McLaren's advancements are intricately tied to the level of competition they face.

“When it comes to competitiveness on track, this depends on what the opposition has done,” the Italian said.

“When we think specifically about Red Bull, there’s one element that obviously I think puts everyone in doubt as to what’s going to happen in 2024. It’s the fact that they haven’t developed their car very much [towards the end of last year].

“So, the question is, have they cashed in, and accumulated development that they will capitalise on to next year’s car? This is my theory.

“I can’t think that Red Bull were not in condition to develop their car, so they might have decided not to deliver upgrades. Certainly, this may mean that their gradient kept going.

“I would say Red Bull should be extremely competitive and we will see where we are, and we will see what kind of challenge we will be able to set on track,” he added.

“But, for me, for us, it’s important that we see we are doing a good job out of our own performance development.

“We are confident that, if we keep doing this, over time, we have an opportunity to close the gap. So that’s our vision for the future.”

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