McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown responds to Indy 500 cheating scandal as penalties issued

Zak Brown, Bahrain GP, McLaren, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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McLaren F1 boss responds to cheating scandal as penalties issued

Zak Brown has spoken out ahead of this weekend's Indy 500

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 20 May 2025 17:56

McLaren Formula 1 boss Zak Brown has weighed in on a major cheating scandal in IndyCar which he believes 'will continue to hover' over the world of motorsport until the matter is resolved.

The American was speaking in the wake of shocking developments at last weekend's Indy 500 qualifying shoot-out, where two drivers were disqualified from the session after it emerged that both cars contained an illegally modified component.

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Defending back-to-back race winner Josef Newgarden and Will Power were initially withdrawn from the session by Team Penske, before they were later removed from the classification, thus dropping them to the back of the grid.

"What a shame this cloud will continue to hover over our great race until everything is fully resolved," Brown told The Associated Press.

Brown questions IndyCar rivals' integrity

It's the second consecutive year in which the team have been swept up in a similar scandal, after their drivers illegally gained access to the push-to-pass system - which allows the engine power to be increased for a period of time - during the 2024 season opener at St Petersburg, with Newgarden stripped of the win as a result.

And Brown - whose Arrow McLaren team will be in action at the main event this weekend - admitted that serious questions need to be asked.

"I’m very concerned, as are my fellow team owners, to find that Team Penske has been found with a multi-car major technical infringement for the second time in two seasons," he said.

"In racing you can sometimes have mechanics who make miscalculations and you can sometimes have manufacturing issues that can all lead to honest mistakes.

"I don’t believe that’s what happened here or last year, which raises questions over the integrity of the decision-making within that team."

IndyCar bosses stripped both drivers of points in qualifying, fined both teams $100,000 and suspended the team strategists - Tim Cindric and Ron Ruzewski - for the remainder of this month.

This year's Indy 500 - one of three iconic races to make up motorsport's Triple Crown alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the F1 Monaco Grand Prix - is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

McLaren Zak Brown Indy 500