McLaren CEO Zak Brown is all set to electrify the atmosphere at the British Grand Prix by taking the legendary 1987 Williams FW11B out for a demonstration run. Brown is a passionate collector of historic cars and a lifelong F1 and IndyCar enthusiast. He announced the special outing during a recent tour of his impressive car collection.
Zak Brown Expresses His Excitement
He expressed his excitement and said, “I’ll take this out at the British Grand Prix this year, which I think the fans are gonna absolutely love. I’m gonna personally take it out. We’ve just had it fully restored here, it’s been shaken down, it’s ready to go. And I think the fans are going to love this around the British Grand Prix, but might be a bit confused why the McLaren guy’s in a Williams.”
The Williams FW11B holds a special place in F1 history. The car was one of the most dominant forces in the 1987 season and was driven by Nigel Mansell, who drove this classic to six Grand Prix victories in that year, including a legendary win at the British GP.
A Car With History
Zak Brown highlighted the car’s significance and said, “This is the car… 1987, he won a lot of races. He (Nigel Mansell) said this was his favourite car to drive. This was, if you remember, the very famous British Grand Prix where he was leading, had a tyre puncture, and then he went out and he broke the track record. I think it was 17 laps in a row and did that famous move at the end of the straight on Nelson Piquet to win the British Grand Prix. So, that’s this one. That was this exact chassis.”
Zak Brown’s connection to the FW11B is both performed and professional. He got the car after brokering a sponsorship deal with Williams, requesting the FW11B as a part of the deal. Over the years, he has also developed a close friendship with Nigel Mansell. With all the history together, Brown has already tested the FW11B at Spain’s circuit and will ensure the car is in its prime condition for its British GP return.
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