McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso the worst experience of his professional career. The high-profile attempt to conquer the Brickyard with the two-time Formula 1 champion ended in shock failure, leaving the team on the sidelines of the iconic race.

Speaking at the Autosport Business Exchange Miami, Brown acknowledged the difficult lessons learned that month ultimately shaped McLaren's return to IndyCar. "I owned it," he said. "It was, at the end of the day, my fault because I didn't get the right pieces in place, the right people in place. I didn't trust my instinct."

Rather than shy away from the humiliation, Brown took responsibility for the operational shortcomings. "I'm very proud of it, which sounds strange, but it's because of how we leaned in, we learned from it," he continued. Since then, McLaren has finished second twice at the Indy 500, proving the team's resilience after that public failure.