Brown says: “2013 and ’14 weren’t great years, so I think it’s fair
to say the performance decline started in ’13. It may have spiked
in ’15-17, but that was the start of it. It’s a combination of people,
processes, tools and accountability. We’re undertaking a complete
review of who, how, what, why and where.
“I’ve challenged the technical leadership team and am playing a role
in asking why isn’t this working, why is it taking us so long to identify
an issue, why are we having an issue? The frustrating thing is that as fast
as F1 moves in some aspects, it’s slower in others. Just because you’ve
identified something, sometimes it takes time to identify the fix.
“This is now a rebuilding process. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
What I’m convinced of is we have a world championship team with
world championship people with world championship equipment
that has just lost its way. We need to get it back on course. I have the
ultimate accountability to make that happen.”
Brown has yet to finalise the longer-term technical structure, but
talk of accountability suggests the need for a single technical chief
sitting above the rest. But unless this is an appointment from within
– and there are question marks over the roles of Prodromou and Morris
– it’s not yet clear who this could be. If a new hire needs to come in,
with the way contracts are set up with non-compete clauses, it could
take a minimum of a year, and very likely more, before they step through
the door at Woking. Creating the structure is one thing, populating it
is another, even if much of the restructure can be covered by shifting
quality personnel around.
“I’ve not landed on a final conclusion of exactly what’s needed,
but clearly as you go up the food chain there needs to be increased
responsibility and accountability and decision-making,” says Brown.
“There needs to be a point where people have the authority to make
a decision. You need to create a system whereby when debate happens
you have someone with the ability to say, ‘I’ve listened to all of you,
this is what we’re doing’.”
If you want to read more, get the latest Autosport magazine. It's great read. McLaren are currently in the progress of reviewing everything, from staff to facilities. The good thing is that they are finally awake in Woking. They are clearly reorganizing for 2021. According to Brown we shouldn't expect them to challenge Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull in 2019 and 2020. The flat structure should also go.
