‘We’re serious about anyone we put in our car’ – Zak Brown on Colton Herta’s Portimao test

Formula 1 has seen some light-hearted ‘PR’ tests over the years, with everyone from rally ace Colin McRae to actor Tom Cruise having tried out an F1 machine. But McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has insisted that IndyCar star Colton Herta’s recent outing in a 2021-spec McLaren MCL35M was far from a fun run…

Herta, the youngest ever winner of an IndyCar race, was let loose in last year’s McLaren in a two-day test at the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix venue last week – with McLaren currently evaluating whether the American could complete one or more of the team’s two mandatory rookie Free Practice 1 outings later this year.

And asked on our F1 Nation podcast ahead of the test how serious Herta’s run was, Brown replied: “We’re very serious about anyone we put in our Formula 1 car. The fact that he’s American is great, but we lead with performance.

Source: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.were-serious-about-anyone-we-put-in-our-car-zak-brown-on-colton-hertas.4XyPj6skG1msM0TsAG5i28.html