McLaren CEO Zak Brown calls for FIA rule change following Racing Point rumpus

McLaren

Brown calls for FIA rule change following Racing Point rumpus

The stewards are due to hear Renault's protest on Wednesday

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 4 August 2020 10:06

McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes it is time for the FIA to re-write the rules following the Racing Point furore this season.

Following three protests by Renault against the brake ducts on the RP20, the stewards will finally sit in judgment on the case on Wednesday.

Designated this season as a listed part that must be designed and manufactured in house by each team, Racing Point is adamant its brake ducts are legal, despite their similarity to those on the 2019 Mercedes W10.

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Brown, confident he has support from within F1, said: "I think the majority of the teams don't like what they're seeing with Copy Point, Tracing Point, Racing Point, whatever you want to call them, and whether it's legal or not, we will have to see how the FIA responds to the protest.

"Putting aside the legality, or not, because we don't know, I think it's outside the spirit of what we think Formula 1 is and has been.

"Yes, there's always been a degree of copying, looking at what another team has done with their front wing, the double diffuser, and I think that's part of the sport.

"But it's certainly been taken to the extreme this time where they've effectively admitted they've replicated someone else's race car, and I don't believe that's what Formula 1 is about.

"There are other forms of racing, spec racing, or two or three different chassis. I don't think that's the DNA of Formula 1, so I think what's important is that we get clarity on what's happened, and whether it's appropriate or not."

Pushing for a future rule change, Brown added: "Regardless of the outcome, if we all agree - which I think the majority of us do - that it's not what Formula 1 should be like moving forward, we need to make sure we write regulations to stop whatever has happened from happening again."

Brown is concerned that if no changes are made it could ultimately result in a two-tier F1 system, with further arguments as to what constitutes a constructor, and whether prize money should be distributed according to status.

"I would hate to get into a 'you're a constructor, you're not a constructor' [debate] with different prize money," insisted Brown.

"I think that just exacerbates not only having a two-tier system on track, but you'd have a two-tier system off track, and then I think Formula 1 loses its identity."

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