Brown: Formula 1 needs many changes! What does the McLaren boss’ statement say?

Does Formula 1 and its governing body need a change? According to McLaren boss Zak Brown, it undoubtedly does. A new order could be brought in by new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, from whom Brown has high hopes. So what does his statement say?

Formula 1, and the FIA itself, came under a really solid barrage of criticism at the end of last year, precisely for the controversial way in which the 2021 season was ended. The main target, of course, was Michael Massa, who many believe failed to handle the pressure of an already heated championship battle.

While the investigation into the events in Abu Dhabi continues and many questions for fans are still unanswered by the FIA, McLaren boss Zak Brown is quite clear on the matter. In fact, he believes that the previous season showed us that it was time for some sort of change.

This could certainly be helped by the new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who is in favour of various changes. Teams and drivers would certainly welcome people with direct experience of F1 deciding on track incidents.

We’re talking, of course, about former F1 drivers. “It is clear that some of the rules are not acceptable in their current state. No one is happy with the inconsistency of the control of the regulations, which is also sometimes used by teams to their advantage,” Brown’s statement on the team’s official website reads.

He also said in his statement that the teams currently have too much power, for example, when it comes to proposing new regulations. Brown also adds that not all proposals are constructed in a way to benefit the sport as a whole, but to benefit different teams.

“Let’s not forget that we teams have contributed to the inconsistency in compliance as much as anyone else. It was the teams that put pressure on us to avoid finishing races behind the safety car at all costs. It was the teams that helped introduce the various regulations that everyone complained about later. And again, it was the teams who put pressure on race directors and abused radio communications,” explains the McLaren boss.

Until now, the sport has been run by former FIA boss Jean Todt. It was this man who introduced the idea that teams would be consulted when new regulations were set, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But the teams, just as Brown explains, then had more and more influence not only on the rule-making, but also on the various final decisions.

Brown sees his hope in the fact that Sulayem intends to handle these things differently, better. F1 has changed for the better in many ways, he says, and the rules need to adapt to that.

“Signs of organisational problems were already evident at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix. Now we need to move back to a stronger, more directive leadership,” Brown realises.

“I am confident that we will see more robust leadership from the FIA and F1 and together we will focus on growing the sport and not shirking responsibility when it comes to the tough decisions,” he concluded.

Sources: McLaren Racing, Motorsport