How a passion for the past is driving McLaren's pursuit of F1 titles

By:

Matt Kew

Aug 23, 2023, 11:00 AM

McLaren CEO Zak Brown loves the heritage of motorsport and has made sure the organisation's 60th anniversary has been duly marked. Now his task is to return the Formula 1 team to a stage where it’s creating new history

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They say that you never really own a classic car, even if the V5 form reads otherwise. Instead, you’re more of a custodian, someone who is tasked with preserving a small slice of history so that it may one day be enjoyed by the next generation. Thanks to his appreciation and enthusiasm for the past, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown – himself a collector of significant road and race cars – manages the papaya race teams under a similar mantra.

The American businessman considers himself “the number one McLaren fan”. He is, in essence, the kid who grew up to be given the keys to the sweet shop. As such, on his watch, more and more of the back catalogue of championship-winning machines are being restored, displayed and driven at the headline Goodwood and Monterey (Laguna Seca) events.

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Matt Kew

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Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.