Sport
A challenge from Toto Wolff was the reason Zak Brown got a tattoo in Austin
During the United States Grand Prix weekend, with Daniel Ricciardo in attendance, the McLaren team principal got a tattoo to celebrate the team’s 1-2 finish in Monza earlier this year.
It caught the F1 world at surprise, appearing out of nowhere, but it turned out to be the accomplishment of a challenge that had been set for him long before.
Wolff challenged Brown to undertake something he was scared of as part of the Grand Prix Trust charity’s Industry Leaders’ Challenge, and needles fit the bill.
“Sometimes you have to face your greatest fears, which I’ve done,” Brown said.
“It actually came about through the Grand Prix Trust with Sky, where a team boss gets nominated each year to do something that terrifies them.
“Toto nominated me last year, and needles sufficiently terrify me. So in trying to think through what would be kind of fun and genuine, and properly terrifying, I came up with the idea of getting a tattoo.
“Then obviously, given that Daniel himself is a fan of tattoos, and with him winning recently, I thought maybe we can tie the two together and have him come to visit and hold my hand!”
Brown now has to suggest another member of the Formula One paddock to do something in the next year or so as part of the Grand Prix Trust challenge.
He’s always known who he’ll challenge, but he’s not revealing anything just yet.
“I know who it is, I’ve done it,” he said.
“It’s to nominate someone significant, a personality in the sport. So far it’s been three team bosses in a row, but it’s not limited to just that. It could be engineers, it could be drivers, it can be other people with significant personalities if you’d like within the sport.
“It’s up to the individual to come up with their own plan, and I think it will be rolled out shortly who I’ve nominated. I’m not allowed to say. It’s embargoed.”
Brown and co. will have to wait until the end of the season to know if they will be celebrating, with the British team only three and a half points clear of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.
The uniforms of Formula One racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
