Zak Brown to drive 'controversial' McLaren that ignited bitter F1 feud

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, announced he will drive the MP4-22 chassis at Monza later this year. This specific car, chassis number 1, is famous for being the one Fernando Alonso drove to victory at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. This event is infamously known for igniting the intense team rivalry between Alonso and a rookie Lewis Hamilton, who finished second in that race.

Mclaren achieved a dominant one-two finish in Monaco. Hamilton, eager to challenge Alonso for the win, was instructed to maintain his position behind the team leader. Post-race, team principal Ron Dennis informed Alonso of this instruction, which Alonso misinterpreted. He felt it was a slight against him, rather than a measure to secure the team's one-two finish.

This misunderstanding marked the beginning of a series of escalating events. It ultimately led to the infamous Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying incident, where Alonso deliberately blocked Hamilton after Hamilton had disregarded a team order. This incident further intensified the internal conflict and contributed to the reopening of the Spygate scandal. McLaren was subsequently fined $100 million for possessing Ferrari's technical data, the largest fine in sports history, and was disqualified from the constructors' championship, which they were expected to win.

Interestingly, Kimi Raikkonen, who would go on to win the World Championship by a single point over Hamilton and Alonso that season, finished eighth in Monaco after a qualifying crash.