Now, Zak, perhaps we could start with you. It's a huge weekend for both of your drivers. Have you sensed the tension go up a notch inside the garage so far?
Zak Brown: No. It's kind of business as usual. Of course, it's not business as usual. There's a lot riding on the weekend for both our guys, but they are very relaxed. I like the mindset in which they've come in. We're trying to obviously just be business as usual and not think about what the potential outcome can be and do what we've done the first 23 races - maybe if you leave a few out - and go racing again this weekend.
Well, you said a few weeks ago that you'd rather lose the World Drivers' Championship to Max Verstappen than issue team orders. Sitting here now on the eve of the title decider, do you feel the same way?
ZB: Yes. In the sense of team orders, as long as both drivers have a chance to win the World Championship - which they clearly do sitting here right now - then it's business as usual. They're free to race. Obviously, we'll be practical and realistic. If, as the weekend develops, as the race develops, it becomes clear that one has a significantly better chance than the other, then we're a team that wants to win the Drivers' Championship, and we will race accordingly, to do whatever we can to get that driver in front to try and win the race. So, you know, our team orders have been around giving equal opportunity to win the championship. But if, as the race plays out, it becomes clear that both can't, then we're going to do what's in the best interest of the team and try and win the Drivers' Championship.
What do you say to people who might then accuse you of doing a U-turn on the way you've gone racing so far this year?
ZB: I don't think it's a U-turn. We're going to start the weekend like we have the other 23, which is going in, giving both drivers equal opportunity. I think last year, once it became clear that Lando had the best chance to catch Max and Oscar was almost statistically out of it - in Baku - we then asked Oscar to support Lando, and it ended up being Lando who supported Oscar in that particular race, and Oscar won the race. So, we're going to use common sense. We're not going to throw away a Drivers' Championship over a sixth and seventh place, a third and a fourth place, a fifth and a sixth place if one of our drivers doesn't have the opportunity. I think everything we do, we do with the drivers so they know what the game plan is for this weekend. And, you know, kind of outside of our racing team, you're a bit damned if you do, damned if you don't. And so we're going to just stay true to our racing principles. We want to win the Constructors' - which we've done - we want to win the Drivers', and so we'll see how the race plays out.
If you ask Oscar to move over on Sunday evening, are you confident that he will?
ZB: Yes. Our drivers have always complied with team wishes, just as we comply with their wishes. So, I've got no doubt either of our drivers will continue to race as they've done brilliantly - in the best interest of the team.
Final one from me. Win or lose on Sunday, how will you reflect on 2025?
ZB: Awesome season. Tied Red Bull for clinching the Constructors'. Really would have been nice to break the record, but they tag teamed me - 14 wins, both drivers have seven wins, celebrated our 200th win. It's been a spectacular year. It's been probably the best year McLaren's had in, I don't know, 25, 30 years. So, I don't think you can reflect on anything other than an awesome year. Obviously, if we don't win, we'll be disappointed, but we'll reflect back on the season and it was a hell of a season.
Okay. Zak, thank you for that. I'm sure there'll be more questions for you in a minute. Laurent, can we come to you now? We had Max in the press conference yesterday. He came across as incredibly relaxed. Is that what you're seeing as well?
Laurent Mekies: He is incredibly relaxed. There is no acting there. Honestly, he has been like that... For the little that I've seen of him in the second part of the year, he has been like that in the bad moment and the positive moment. He is very much embracing the approach we have. We take it race by race. We never quite looked at the championship points. We always felt that you go to a race, you try to get the car in the right window, which is difficult enough, and in the second part of the year, if we were doing that, it meant that you would have a chance to fight for the win. And then on Sunday night, you look each other in the eyes and you know if you're doing a good job or not. And the points are just the consequence. And I guess that approach has given both Max and the team the confidence of focusing on the right things and not to feel pressure but instead to feel a privilege to be in a historical fight, in a historical comeback?
How are you approaching the weekend?
LM: Exactly in the same way, really. We try to get the car in the right window. We don't get that easily on any track. Qatar has been particularly difficult. Vegas was not easy either. If we do that, it doesn't mean that Max will be on pole, or that he will win the race, but it means he will be close enough to these guys to fight for it. And then at that moment, whatever happens behind him is not in our control. So, we don't think about it.
If Max were to do it, has this been his best season?
LM: It's you guys that are here to judge how historical a season is compared to the others. I think whether or not Max will win, it's probably fair to say that the world discovered an even more extraordinary Max this season, after his fourth world title. A bit because of the magnitude of the comeback. A bit because, as you say, he has been so relaxed, so well seated in the team. Embracing so much that challenge with the right spirit. A bit also because we have seen him racing elsewhere. I think it has all taken a bit of a part of our heart when we have seen him spending his free weekends being a new dad, racing with GT cars around the world. And I don't know, it's up to you guys to say if in that case, that will become the best of his titles. But for sure, in terms of whatever happens next, the scale of the comeback is something that hopefully will go in a few history books.
Final one for me. Can we change tack and talk about Isack Hadjar? You announced him as Max's teammate for 2026 a few days ago. What are your expectations from him?
LM: Isack has had an unbelievable first season. There is no doubt that in terms of starting point - so where he started in January - the starting point was outstanding. Then we are strong believers not only in the raw talent, but also the ability of the drivers to develop. We have seen so many champions developing through the years, doing things that they had not done in the car a few races before. We've seen that with Isack this year too. We've seen him making stuff in the car that he was not doing three races before. So, to answer your question, we expect - we would like him to continue onto that path. We don't see it as a landing point. We see it as another start for him to continue to develop, to continue to impress us, to continue to surprise us. And you will expect that in the second year. You will expect that in the third year, perhaps in the fourth year. So that's a little bit the journey for us together.
Thank you. Jonathan, let's come to you now. Can we start by talking about Max Verstappen? You have insider knowledge of him from your time at Red Bull. What makes him such a potent force in a situation like this, in a title showdown?
Jonathan Wheatley: I think it's not his first rodeo. He's been here before. He has a coolness and a calm - which Laurent's talking about - and I think that permeates through the team. If everyone in the team seems calm, starting with the driver - I'm sure you've got the same situation as well, Zak, in your team - then the team gains confidence from it. To be in this situation is what we dream of. I'm loving the situation that two friends of mine are finding themselves in this year, because you can work your entire life to be in this situation. And the great thing with Max is he's been here before.
Well, can we talk about when he was here before in 2021, against Lewis Hamilton? How did he deal with the pressure then?
JW: Yeah. I think it was a different Max then. There was a hunger about him. That whole season, there was a frisson of energy about the whole season. There was everything that you'd want in a Formula 1 championship - great rivalries, on-track clashes, and what have you. It came to a crescendo here, which I think... We're looking at another crescendo on Sunday. So excited. I think for the sport, it's such a great new story to have three great drivers in contention for a Drivers' World Championship, and I hope I can have a bit of time to enjoy that as well as our own race on Sunday.
Well, let's talk about your own race. Let's bring this back to Sauber. Every team wants to end the season on a high. What does that look like for you this weekend?
JW: Well, there's a couple of things. First of all, I feel tremendously proud to be part of the Sauber journey. I was there the first time they ran a car in testing in Barcelona, and I was there for the first race in Kyalami, where they actually finished fifth in the first race. Since then, 617 races. We have Peter Sauber with us this weekend. Peter and I get on brilliantly. To be able to show our respect for Peter as a team - and, of course, what we want to do is sign off on this incredible journey in Formula 1 for the Sauber name by making him as proud as we can on Sunday and putting to bed, respectfully, the Sauber legacy as we move forward into becoming the Audi F1 Team.
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