McLaren Racing’s High-Performance Partnership for the Fast Lane

In this article we discuss:

• A Unified Vision: "Forever Forward" in the Race for Excellence
• Navigating the Cost Cap: A Collaborative Financial Transformation
• Cultivating a High-Performance Ecosystem Through People and Partners

At the cutting edge of Formula 1, McLaren Racing’s sustained drive for excellence is powerfully propelled by the collaborative leadership of its CEO, Zak Brown, and his leadership team, including CFO, Laura Bowden.

CEO since 2018, Brown has led McLaren's transformation, spearheading its strategic direction, operational performance, marketing, and commercial development. Prior to McLaren, he raced professionally for a decade, then founded JMI, a leading motorsport marketing agency, and co-owns United Autosports.

Bowden joined McLaren Group in 2008 as an account manager. She steadily advanced through various key financial roles within the McLaren ecosystem, becoming CFO of McLaren Racing in February 2020.

Together, Brown and Bowden form a critical partnership, helping orchestrate a culture of innovation, strategic agility, and a shared commitment to transcending the boundaries of competition. McLaren’s leadership ensures the team’s drive to win extends beyond the racetrack, permeating every facet of the organization.

A Unified Vision: "Forever Forward" in the Race for Excellence

McLaren Racing's guiding principle is "Forever Forward,” a philosophy that mandates an unyielding focus on the future. In the high-octane world of Formula 1, the status quo means losing, given the breathtaking pace of technological development. This relentless pursuit of incremental gains, where everyone asks, "How do I go faster? How do I work more efficiently? How can I be better tomorrow than I was yesterday?" defines McLaren Racing's collective mindset.

Laura Bowden echoes this intrinsic drive. McLaren is unequivocally "in the business of competition," a battle fought not just on the track. This holistic competitive ethos has made McLaren the second-most successful team in Formula 1 history, with an impressive 21 world championships and 197 Grand Prix wins.

Navigating the Cost Cap: A Collaborative Financial Transformation

The introduction of the cost cap in 2021 presented a pivotal challenge, reshaping the financial landscape of Formula 1. This regulation levelled the playing field, making fiscal efficiency paramount, especially with just 2.6% often separating the top and bottom teams. Brown highlights the stark contrast to the pre-cap era, where teams could "spend our way out of problems." Now, every single pound or dollar must be maximized for car performance, demanding exceptional financial forecasting and proactive anticipation of unforeseen events like accident damage. It’s up to Bowden and her finance team to make this work. "We can't waste anything,” she says.

This necessitated a move away from clunky and outdated financial tools that previously required significant budgetary headroom to ensure compliance. Over the past three years, Bowden’s team has championed the adoption of sophisticated tools and advanced analytics, enabling them to operate precisely at the cost cap limit—a critical factor for competitive performance. These systems consolidate data, providing real-time insights for planning and empowering the finance team to offer immediate, confident headroom figures to engineers, the team principal, and Brown himself, optimizing strategic investment in car upgrades. The shift provides data "at our fingertips," facilitating rapid scenario planning and quick responses to costly events like crashes.

This technological leap liberates the finance team from manual data verification, allowing their team to focus on high-value, strategic contributions. Bowden notes the excited sentiment within her team, which can now generate reports instantly and perform complex financial modeling in moments, a process that once consumed days or weeks. This newfound agility ensures the finance operations keep pace with the demands of a lightning-fast race team. The increased transparency means engineers and operations teams are actively collaborating with finance on spending, recognizing that the finance team is integral to the performance on-track. As Bowden puts it, trusting the data is non-negotiable because "we don't want to leave any performance on the table.”

Cultivating a High-Performance Ecosystem Through People and Partners

Both Brown and Bowden profoundly understand that McLaren's success hinges on a high-performance culture, driven by dedicated people and strategic partnerships

Brown explains that McLaren Racing challenges its "best-in-class" technology partners to push boundaries, often developing bespoke solutions to meet their unique demands, even under tight deadlines. This demanding relationship ensures McLaren consistently leverages the most advanced external technologies.

Looking ahead, Bowden anticipates McLaren Racing's continued evolution, facing new geographies, multiple currencies, and the changing financial regulations, such as the upcoming regulation changes in 2026. She stresses the critical need for partners who can adapt and embark on this journey of continuous change alongside them. Brown reinforces that “advanced tools are essential for precise forecasting, maintaining the Forever Forward momentum, and running the most efficient business possible,” directly translating investments into enhanced race car performance. This integrated leadership ensures that McLaren Racing not only adapts to the future but actively shapes it.

Zak Brown is CEO of McLaren Racing, leading the team’s commercial and competitive resurgence since 2018. A former professional driver and founder of Just Marketing International—the world’s largest motorsport marketing agency—Brown has expanded McLaren’s presence across Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, and endurance racing. Under his leadership, McLaren has returned to the F1 podium, secured major sponsorships, and embraced innovation and sustainability in motorsport.

Laura Bowden is Chief Financial Officer of McLaren Racing, responsible for financial strategy, procurement, IT, and facilities. Since joining McLaren in 2008, she has held key finance roles across the group and was appointed CFO in 2020. A Fellow of the ACCA, Bowden has played a critical role in streamlining operations and supporting McLaren’s growth across multiple racing series.