Despite turning a sure victory into a loss at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, McLaren won't be caught this season, claims team legend and double Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen, who also hailed the fine job by the team's management.
F1's Flying Finn, 20-time Grand Prix winner and F1 World Champion in 1998 and 1999, is like all McLaren fans delighted to see the team back at the sharp end, ahead on the pecking order of performance 16 races into this 2024 Round F1 World Championship and win contenders each weekend.
After over a decade in the doldrums, McLaren is where it once was, which of course thrills Hakkinen: "It's great to see the performance of McLaren, but for me, it's not a surprise what's happening now.
"When I started with the team in 1993, they were winning with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. They had great success and even broke records. In my first year, they only stopped using the familiar Honda engines. We ran with Ford engines, although that didn't work out well.
"Then we switched to Mercedes engines, and things slowly started to improve. That requires a lot of discipline and good communication with the media and fans. We had to tell them to be patient, that we were working on it, and that it took time.
"If you look at the last few years, McLaren has not had any success. Last year, in one of the first races, they were on the last row. It's incredible that they have the focus and the knowledge to see what it takes to win races," reckoned Hakkinen.
Mika: McLaren management has done a fantastic job.
Much credit has to be given to McLaren boss Zak Brown, who was tasked with turning around the'ship' and becoming a contender for regular wins. Brown's "five-year plan" to do just that came to be in the sixth year and continues to bloom.
In his post-Italian Grand Prix column for Unibet, Hakkinen acknowledged: "McLaren management is doing a fantastic job. They had to motivate the drivers, keep the patience, and encourage the hard work, also from engineers, designers, and marketers.
"It takes time; it takes years, but look where they are now. It is impossible to do it overnight. It is also not possible with a lot of financial resources. Now McLaren is in a position where they can continue to develop the car. They want to continue to improve the car and are now the fastest team.
"They are the best team, and it will be exciting to see what happens the rest of the season. Will they dominate? I hope so. Or will there be other teams that will upgrade the car? I don't think so.
"I think McLaren has the resources. They have fast drivers, good designers, the right management, and fantastic partners who finance a great team. I don't think anyone can catch them," predicts Hakkinen.
2024 Formula 1 standings ahead of Round 17, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix:
Latest News
Loading
