Formula 1 and the highest body of world motorsport found themselves at the top of a wave of criticism for the controversy that was generated in the resumption after the safety car at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last and decisive race of the season 2021.
As the FIA investigates the Abu Dhabi developments into F1’s decision-making process, Zak Brown believes the lessons of the past year show that change is needed.
The head of McLaren said that the arrival of the new FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem , offers a great opportunity to take a new approach that could avoid these types of scenes more akin to a “pantomime audition” in which F1 dropped last season.
Speaking on McLaren’s website, Brown said: “It is clear that some of the rules and their management are not acceptable as things stand. Nobody is happy with the lack of consistency in the application of the regulations, but it has been exploited by the teams to gain competitive advantage.
“I’ve said before that the teams have too much power, and that needs to be reduced. We have an important role in making the regulations and their governance in Formula 1, and that influence is not always driven by what is best for the team. sport”.
“Yes, the teams need to be consulted and their views taken into account, especially on long-term strategic issues. But it has seemed that the sport is sometimes governed by certain teams.”
“Let’s not forget that we, the teams, have contributed to these inconsistencies in the application of the regulations. It is the teams that applied pressure to avoid finishing the races under a safety car at all costs.”
“It is the teams that voted in favor of many of the rules that they have complained about. They are the ones that have been using the TV broadcast of radio messages to the race director to try to influence the sanctions and the results. , to the point where a team manager overreacts and puts pressure on the stewards”.
“This has not been beneficial to Formula 1. It has seemed like a ridiculous test rather than the pinnacle of a global sport.”
The previous FIA president, Jean Todt , pushed for his desire to govern the sport by consensus, which meant a lot of consultation with the teams when it came to setting the rules.
Brown hopes Sulayem will handle this differently, and believes the time is right to do so now that F1 has changed for the better with the new owners of Liberty Media .
“Sulayem’s election last December as the new president of the FIA offers the opportunity for a collective reform of the operation of Formula 1,” he said.
“It makes sense to focus on the events in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season, which are the subject of an FIA investigation, but this was a symptom rather than a cause in my opinion. rules – the FIA or the teams – that have manifested themselves in the last two years, sometimes in a very notorious way.
“Signs of organizational difficulties could be seen at the 2020 Australian Grand Prix and in Belgium last year, both marked by an apparent lack of preparation for the unfolding events.”
“Greater clarity on the roles of the FIA and F1, and the need for greater leadership of the sport, will be on the agenda for Mohammed Ben Sulayem, Stefano Domenicali and their respective teams.”
“Previous managers followed a largely autocratic style of governance, so to steer the sport in the right direction, a more consultative approach with teams and stakeholders was needed.”
“But now that the sport has been successfully restored, there is a need to return to stronger governance. I am confident that we will see more leadership from the FIA and F1, and that as advocates of the sport we will focus on its evolution, without shirking responsibility when difficult decisions have to be made,” he added.
