F1 News: McLaren CEO Claims Teams Are 'Guilty' Of Causing Controversial Issues - 'Our Own Worst Problem'

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren, criticizes Formula 1 teams for self-interested regulation shaping.

Sep 8, 2023; Salinas, California, USA; McLaren Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown speaks to announce driver David Malukas (18) move to Arrow McLaren Racing for the 2024 season before free practice at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has criticised Formula 1 teams over what he perceives as their undue influence in shaping the sport's regulations, a practice he describes as counterproductive and "embarrassing." His comments, made during the British Grand Prix weekend and reported by PlanetF1.com, focus on the contentious application and voting on FIA rules that often reflect teams' immediate self-interest rather than the sport's long-term fairness.

Brown points to recent episodes, including penalty disputes involving McLaren's Lando Norris and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen post-Austrian Grand Prix, as prime examples of the flawed rule making process influenced by team biases. He explained:

“It does make you wonder, how did we go racing without any of this stuff for as long as we did and not have any of these controversies?

“I think the teams collectively are pretty guilty of creating a lot of these issues themselves by overcomplicating what we want in race cars, what we want on regulations because something will happen, and we’ll all spend an inordinate amount of time getting into so much detail, and we don’t necessarily think about the unintended consequences."

His solution is straightforward: reduce the voting power of the teams in rule application.

“So that comes back to my view, which I think I’ve been consistent on — I’d like to see the teams have less authority as much of a voice through voting for all these different things that we vote on.

“We’re all conflicted in some way at some point, and the threshold for teams to be able to rally together to block something that is not in there…

“I think we do need to give more of the power back to Formula 1 and the FIA to do what’s right for the sport.

“I think we’re our own worst problem.”

He continued:

“Not everyone is on the same page, because they want to have the ability to influence the outcome. It can be pretty embarrassing at times in the team principal meetings.”

“When Lando was up on penalty points two years ago, we made our case that actually the majority of his penalty points weren’t dangerous, and Otmar [Szafnauer of Alpine] was totally against it, because obviously everyone wanted to get Lando banned.

“Fast forward 12 months, Gasly’s up against it. Otmar brings forward the same exact case that we brought forward, and we were like, dude, you voted against that. He didn’t even know where he voted.”

Brown concluded:

“[That] means you’re going to win some and lose some, and there could be some times that [McLaren] loses in the short term.

“But I believe McLaren want to race in a fair and sporting and equitable way, which means sometimes it means it might go for you, sometimes it might go against you, but over the long haul, if we’re all in a sport that is about total fairness, and things are equal for everyone, I think that’s just a better sport, and we all win.”