In Canada, Zak Brown from McLaren is seen on the pit wall.
Zak Brown didn’t hold back in discussing his view that Formula 1 teams should have less sway in voting on the application of FIA rules, saying that the team principal meetings can get “pretty embarrassing” as everyone votes for rules that benefit their teams in the short term.
The McLaren CEO has admitted that he’d prefer teams have “less authority,” and that the ultimate decision making and application of the rules be left to Formula 1 and FIA in order to create a fairer and better sport.
McLaren: “Take this ‘what’s good for me today’ vote out of the system”
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper and Thomas Maher
During the British Grand Prix, while speaking to various media outlets including PlanetF1.com, Zak Brown expressed his worries about the potential inconsistency in decision-making and implementation of rules within Formula 1. He believes that granting excessive power to team principals in these matters can lead to embarrassing situations during team principal meetings.
Brown questioned how racing managed to go on for so long without any of the current technological advancements and controversies, in reference to the penalties imposed on Lando Norris and Max Verstappen following their collision at the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I believe that the teams are mainly responsible for causing many of these issues by unnecessarily complicating our desired features in race cars and regulations,” Brown expressed. “We tend to excessively focus on minor details without considering the unintended repercussions, which consumes a significant amount of our time.”
In my perspective, which I have consistently maintained, I believe teams should have less authority and influence through voting on various matters.
“We all experience conflicting emotions or opinions at some point, and when it comes to teams, there is a certain threshold at which they can unite to prevent something that is not in their best interest…”
“I believe it is necessary to empower Formula 1 and the FIA to make decisions that prioritize the well-being of the sport.”
“I believe that we are our own biggest obstacle.”
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Brown acknowledged that these changes would be necessary in the subsequent version of the Concorde Agreement, although he acknowledged that he might hold a dissenting opinion.
According to Brown, the reason why not everyone is in agreement is because they desire the power to shape the final result.
“There are moments during team principal meetings that can be quite embarrassing.”
Brown pointed to one particular example.
Two years ago, when Lando had accumulated penalty points, we argued that most of his penalties were not posing a significant danger. However, Otmar from Alpine strongly opposed our standpoint, as it seemed evident that everyone was determined to have Lando disqualified.
“Jump ahead 12 months, Gasly finds himself in a tough spot. Otmar presents the exact same argument that we did before, and we reminded him that he had voted against it.”
“He was unaware of the location where he had cast his vote.”
According to Brown, having such a mindset is “unhealthy” because it leads to applying rules based on a team’s present feelings rather than making decisions that benefit the future of Formula 1.
He further explained that Formula 1 should eliminate such a “self-serving” voting approach from the system and instead allow the FIA and Formula 1 to regulate in order to ensure fairness in the sport.
“Admittedly, winning and losing are part of the game, so there may be occasions where McLaren faces short-term losses,” Brown acknowledged.
I believe McLaren’s intention is to compete in a fair and balanced manner, where outcomes may favor or go against them. However, in the long run, if we all participate in a sport that prioritizes fairness and equality for everyone, it creates a better environment where everyone ultimately succeeds.
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