My Favorite Cigar
Zak Brown • Mclaren Racing CEO • Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
Asingle Formula 1 team transports nearly 55 tons of cargo and travels 75,000 miles in a season. Thankfully for Zak Brown, when his office packs up the race cars, the spare parts, the tools and the piles of computers, they always include two things for the CEO: golf balls and cigars. “I’m always on the run,” he says. “But if I’m having a stogie, I know I’m sitting still.”
Brown, a former professional race car driver and founder of the world’s largest motorsports marketing agency, took the helm of McLaren Racing in 2018. Born in California, he now calls London home. “We have great cigar places here,” Brown says. “I’ll go raid them and fill up a few good-size humidors.”
Brown likes a flavorful smoke. The Arturo Fuente Don Carlos from the Dominican Republic is a particular favorite. A Cuban Montecristo No. 2 or Cohiba Behike is always within reach. Like a pit crew selecting just the right tires, Brown picks his smoke for the occasion, not the label. “If I’m on the golf course,” he explains, “I want a big, long one for the front nine and the back nine.”
