Brown finds positive after McLaren's tough 2023 start: At least we're transparent

Zak Brown says "you can't fault us for being transparent and honest" about McLaren's difficult start to the 2023 Formula 1 season.

The team have only scored 14 points so far this season compared to 46 after round five last year, after suffering from technical problems in Bahrain and an unfortunate start in Saudi Arabia in which damage from Oscar Piastri's front wing affected Lando Norris.

McLaren already came into the season knowing that they had missed their targets during pre-season testing, with Norris revealing that their biggest weakness was drag in a straight line after Saudi Arabia.

Things improved at Melbourne when the team made use of the red flags to get into the points, with Norris also grabbing points after making a tyre gamble during the unique Friday qualifying session in Baku.

The team tried another gamble on tyre strategy at the start in Miami, but it did not pay off as they found the degradation to be much higher on the Soft compound and needed to pit earlier than everyone else – once again finding themselves at the back of the pack.

Brown: It will never be a straight linear to the top

Brown says the team have been honest about their performance since the start of the year, but expects the squad to get back on track as the season approaches the European races.

"That's why we had at the launch, Andrea [Stella] said, 'I want to come out and tell everyone don't expect miracles in Bahrain', and I think while that may be open for some criticism, you can't fault us for just being transparent and honest," Brown told Sky Sports.

"Then we said we should be back on track in Baku and that's worked out. But it's never going to be a straight linear to the top.

"But I like what we have and, if I look at where we started in this journey in 2017, we're a radically different racing team. So I'm happy where we're at, but not happy enough."