McLaren CEO Zak Brown has given comment about the team’s performance in Season 10 of Formula E.
The Woking-based squad have enjoyed a meteoric rise as a organisation and have expanded into other categories besides Formula 1, such as Formula E and IndyCar.
McLaren joined the al-electric category for the 2022/23 season as a customer team powered by Nissan. With drivers Jake Hughes and Rene Rast, the team finished down in eighth in their debut year with one podium courtesy of Rast in Diriyah with third.
The team have had a small progression in FE this past year due to inconsistent performances, but speaking with RacingNews365, Brown is pleased with the growth under the guidance of their team principal.
Zak Brown lauds Ian James’ impact on McLaren Formula E team
Ian James has acted as McLaren’s FE team boss since they joined in 2022 and in Season 10, the Woking squad enjoyed a better campaign.
With 12-time ePrix winner Sam Bird replacing Rast alongside Hughes, the team managed to only get one car in the points in each of the opening four races.
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The last of those four would be McLaren’s first win in FE, after Bird passed his former Jaguar teammate Mitch Evans on the penultimate corner at Sao Paulo to secure his first win since 2021.
However, McLaren struggled for regular points, with 12 points finishes across the year. Hughes grabbed the team’s second podium of the year with second in Shanghai as they finished seventh overall in the standings.
Despite an inconsistent year, Brown believes the team is in ‘good stead’ under James for the future.
“On the Electric Racing front, in Formula E, while seventh place in the Constructors’ World Championship is clearly not where we want to be, we won in São Paulo and took a podium in China, and those are pretty cool achievements, which we should be proud of,” he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth off-track, led by NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Managing Director and Team Principal Ian James, and this will put us in good stead moving forward.
“Ian has been putting the building blocks in place for our long-term future and with us now entering the new GEN3 Evo era, I believe we’ll see our progress off-track reflected on the track.”
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McLaren are yet to confirm their second driver for Season 11
Season 11 will see a new era for FE with the introduction of the Gen3 Evo cars, which are set to become the fastest accelerating car in an FIA championship.
As the 2024/25 driver line-up starts to fill up, Bird has been retained by McLaren while Hughes will depart for Maserati.
The 30-year-old has been with the team since 2022 and will be linking up with Season eight champion Stoffel Vandoorne at Maserati.
Formula 2 talent Taylor Barnard is being linked as a potential replacement for McLaren, having replaced Bird at Monaco and the Berlin double header after the former injured his hand in a crash at Monte Carlo.
Barnard impressed in his FE appearances, with two points finishes in the Berlin races.