The winning formula: F1 lessons in leadership

"I think there’s an immense amount of similarities between being a racing driver and being a CEO,” Zak Brown observes.

The McLaren Racing CEO and former professional driver is addressing a full house in London Business School’s Nuffield Hall. Organised by the LBS Student Association – student tickets for the event sold out in under 10 minutes. “I’ve never seen this level of full room and excitement,” LBS Dean Sergei Guriev remarked as the event got underway.

“You need to surround yourself with great people, great equipment and great technology, whatever business you’re in,” Zak continues. “You need to be a good communicator, good at giving feedback, but you also need to be very good at listening, because your engineers are giving you important information.”

If leadership in business hinges on decision-making and judgment, then in racing, those same decisions must be made in a split second – with no margin for error. “You have to have an immense amount of trust. You need to know risk versus reward. You need to trust your instinct,” Zak adds.

Driving change at McLaren

When Zak took the reins in 2016, McLaren was struggling both on and off the track. The team had just finished ninth in the Constructors Championship – its worst result ever – and was suffering from record-low sponsorship, internal mistrust, and a revolving door at the leadership level. The team was unhappy, the fans were unhappy, and there were conspiracy theories flying around. “Other than that, everything was great,” he quips.

What McLaren did have was its heritage – a strong brand and a world-class legacy in Formula 1. “We just needed to get everyone pointed in the right direction,” Zak explains. He’d never run a racing team before and wasn’t a technical whizz, but he was comfortable being uncomfortable”. This allowed him to focus on reinvigorating the brand, bringing in new drivers, landing major sponsorship deals, and making the team more visible and accessible.

“We were kind of like Darth Vader,” he jokes, “and we wanted to become Luke Skywalker.” One of his first moves was changing the colour of the car – visibly signalling a shift away from the shadowy, exclusive image of the past toward something more open, inclusive and fan-friendly.

Beyond optics, he rebuilt the foundation of McLaren’s leadership structure too. “We very much challenge each other: a great leadership team doesn’t always agree. It often has different perspectives, which you want. But then you do want to land on the right decision and get everyone rowing in the same direction,” he states.

That shift in direction – and culture – began to build momentum. Zak describes his belief in diversity not just as a social imperative, but a competitive advantage: “I believe a lot in diversity of backgrounds, gender and geography – if everyone looks through the same lens we get the same answer. The more data you get in the better the output.”

He applied this philosophy to every corner of the organisation. “Everyone is quick to credit the engineers and designers,” he explains, “but you have to be firing on all cylinders to really be a world championship team.”

This starts with a strong fan base, and a great communications team to engage with those fans. “Now that you have the fans, you need to have a great commercial team, which will give you the economics to give to the engineers and designers and drivers,” he continues. “We live in a cost cap world, so you need a great finance department so you know where you’re getting ROI. Then you have to have a great HR department – because what’s made us most successful is our culture.”

The impact of McLaren’s cultural and leadership reset couldn’t be clearer. At the start of the 2023 season, the team was again sitting in ninth place. By the year’s end, with only three senior leadership changes and the same 997 team members, they were winning races. “That’s the performance swing you can get with good leadership,” Zak asserts.

From pit lane to LBS

Former F1 driver, event organiser and LBS MBA student Nicholas Latifi offers another perspective on high-performance leadership.

Nicholas has already brought valuable insights from his F1 experience to the classroom, and looks forward to applying them to the world of business. “People don’t always realise how many hundreds of team members are behind a Formula 1 car. Each person has an incredibly specific role, but if one thing goes wrong, the whole operation can fall apart,” he says. That same understanding of interdependence and trust has shaped how he’s approached group projects and leadership at LBS.

“In some group settings, I often found myself stepping into a coordinating role,” he shares. “It wasn’t about being the expert on the subject – most of the time others had deeper technical knowledge – but I still had something to offer in terms of bringing structure, clarity, and trying to move things forward.”

Nicholas' takeaway is clear: leadership isn’t always about being the smartest person in the room – it’s about understanding people, recognising strengths, and getting everyone to pull in the same direction. “You’ve got to figure out who’s best at what, and trust them to deliver,” he explains.

Agility under pressure

Following the event, Stefano Turconi, Teaching Fellow of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and lead of the upcoming Building the Agile Organisation elective, reflected on the leadership traits Zak Brown has modelled in shaping an adaptable, high-performing team at McLaren Racing – a timely example of the principles explored throughout the course.

Stoicism. Zak took charge and McLaren Racing through its darkest years. His early efforts – quietly nurturing talent and rebuilding the team – went largely unnoticed, but they were crucial in laying the foundations for future success. Stoicism isn't just about enduring hardship, but preparing, often quietly, to thrive amid turbulence.”

Candor. Zak is refreshingly open about his limits. He knows how to identify gaps, when to lead and when to step back and delegate. Just as importantly, he recognises the strengths of others -- spotting talent, elevating it and bringing in the right people at the right time.”

Playfulness. Zak brings levity to high-pressure environments. He’s famous for making bets with his drivers – previously ending up with tattoos to commemorate McLaren’s F1 victories. While it might sound lighthearted, this approach helps normalise high-stakes situations and make pressure feel manageable.”

Final lap

Back in Nuffield Hall, the energy is still palpable. Zak reflects on the road ahead. McLaren may be back on top, but the challenge now is staying there. “We’re a pretty well-oiled machine at this point,” he says, “but it’s easier said than done.”

That’s where leadership comes in – not just reacting, but empowering others to act. “We have a no-blame culture. Mistakes are okay. Just don’t make the same one twice.”

In a world where innovation and risk-taking go hand in hand, Zak’s goal is clear: to create the kind of culture where people feel safe enough to be bold – but thoughtful enough to get it right. “You learn more from losing than you do from winning,” he says. “But either way, you’ve got to be brave.”