McLaren boss Zak Brown admits he is “surprised” to find the team in a battle with Red Bull for the world championship this season.
The British team find themselves just 42 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship as the season heads into its final 10 races.
They trailed by 114 points after race six of the season but since Lando Norris took his maiden victory in Miami, McLaren have had at least one racer on the podium in each of the last eight races.
Brown told BBC Sport: “If I were to sit here and say I’m not surprised, that would be disingenuous. Red Bull had such an advantage over everyone and Mercedes has been so dominant.
“I felt like we’d continue to close the gap. Did I think we would be here at the summer break, one race away from getting the lead?
“That race would have to be first and second and fastest lap, and do I think it’s going to happen like that? No. But if we keep the same trajectory we’ve been on the last six, seven races, we’ll be where we need to be by the end of the year.
“I thought we might get where we are now by 2025. I didn’t think we would be where we are now in 2024. But I’m not complaining.”
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Brown believes the constructors’ championship will go down to the final race and says a lot could hinge on Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, whose has slipped of late.
“It’s going to be tough,” Brown added. “I think it’s going to come down to the last race. There’s not much between the cars. It’s gonna come down to how does Sergio Perez perform?
“If he can perform as he’s capable of performing, it’s going to be a hard fight. If he continues to perform as he has this year, we have a pretty good chance, because we have two drivers constantly performing at the front.”
