Brown cautious about expanding McLaren portfolio: 'This should not happen again'

Not only did Britain's McLaren confirm its entry into Extreme E this week, but the papaya-coloured team is also considering an entry into WEC and Formula E. McLaren CEO Zak Brown is cautious though, holding up a repeat of the Indycar drama in 2019 as an example of what could go wrong.

McLaren has big ambitions, bigger than just Formula 1. After entering Extreme E, now WEC and Formula E seem to be on the program as well. Brown explains these considerations in conversation with Motorsport Week, and is thoughtful about the new adventure: "It needs to be one step at a time, we need to make sure we can digest what we bite off."

Brown continued: "Certainly we can’t get ourselves in a situation which I got us into in 2019, where I think I did bite off a little bit more than I could chew and we saw the result at Indianapolis." In 2019, McLaren was so plagued by problems during Indy500 qualifying that it missed out on a spot on the grid.

Despite McLaren's extensive portfolio, Brown assures that the biggest focus will remain on the Formula One project. Brown: "IndyCar, Extreme E, they’re all there to be complementary and to help accelerate our Formula 1 efforts."