McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown believes that Liberty Media should persevere with the resistance shown by some teams and continue to fix the “broken model…
McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown believes that Liberty Media should persevere with the resistance shown by some teams and continue to fix the “broken model” of Formula One.
A new-look Formula One is on the horizon with the current regulations coming to an end in 2020, and negotiations well underway for the next set of regulations for 2021 onward.
The main aims from Liberty Media are to bring in a radical new car concept, a fairer distribution of the revenue which goes to teams, and cost caps.
Whilst the finer details are yet to be ironed out, naturally there is resistance from some teams who fear losing out in the regulation changes.
McLaren’s Brown believes that it’s important for Liberty to not back down on what he thinks is in “the best interests of the sport”.
“We know change in F1 is difficult, and we also know F1 today is a broken model, both as a business and as an on track product, that is going to need to be changed,” said Brown.
“Those that are winning today will obviously feel the compromise about what is happening, and those are not winning today are going to like the plan.
“It was inevitable that Chase [Carey, F1 chairman] would bring forward a plan that some people like and some people don’t like. But he needs to move forward with what he thinks is in the best interest of the sport.
“At the end of the day, what is in the best interests of the sport in the long term is in the best interests of everyone, if people can get past the short-term compromises that they need to make. I think today’s F1, if it is stays as is, I think everyone eventually loses.
“They have been consistent since Bahrain in their vision and direction of the sport, the budget cap, and the revenue distribution.
“I know that not all the teams are aligned but I think a majority are. At McLaren we are very supportive of what was presented in Bahrain and I think the sooner we can get that on the road to implementation the better.”
New McLaren F1 car to launch on February 14th
Back to matters on the race track, McLaren have confirmed that their new car will be officially launched on the 14th February.
They are the fourth team to confirm their launch date, with the four teams due to unveil their cars the week prior to the start of pre-season testing, which begins on February 18th.
So far, Renault will be the first car to be seen, on February 12th, followed by Racing Point (who will possibly have had a name change by then), McLaren, then Ferrari.
Confirmed car release dates:
Renault – February 12th
Racing Point – February 13th
McLaren – February 14th
Ferrari – February 15th
Pre-season test dates:
First test – February 18th to 21st
Second test – February 26th to March 1st
By: Luke Murphy
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