Brown: I had no doubt Norris was going to move over

On business in the USA, Brown like the F1 world watched in awe, as Norris' race engineer Will Joseph pleaded for his driver to adhere to a pre-agreement of sorts, which Lando argued against articulately and calmly, before relenting and obeying the instructions.

Would he or wouldn't he? Dominated the commentary, but Brown told reporters he kept the faith in his driver: “I know Lando very well, so I had no doubt he was going to move over. I think we left it a bit long because they were free to race.

“Had he made that change of position right away, you would have had 21 laps of racing to go. Part of me was actually happy they didn’t race because that would have been 21 laps of me biting my nails."

Brown: I think it all worked out in the end

The American conceded: "Some learnings there, some better communication amongst us – to be clearer with each other. But it all worked out in the end. It was awesome. The first time we started and finished one-two since 2007. The team did a great job. We got there in the end, with a bit of drama along the way but it was all sorted.

"I think as we are still young as this team, we are still learning. It was the first time we have been in that situation. We learned and we won't replicate," Brown assured McLaren fans.

Much credit must go to Brown for McLaren's revival. From backmarkers two years ago, he acted swiftly to scrap a bad car, allowing the team to produce a good car. The leadership of Andrea Stella, proving a stellar hire for the team, making it all work.

Ahead of Round 14 this weekend in Hungary, McLaren are second in the 2024 F1 World Championship standings, nipping ahead of Ferrari who dropped down to third. The gap to Red Bull at the top is now down to 51 points.