McLaren director predicts 'turbulent' 2021 negotiations

McLaren executive director Zak Brown has predicted that the negotiations between Formula One teams and Liberty Media and the FIA in 2021 will be 'turbulent', with a number of the teams unhappy at the proposed engine regulation changes set to be implemented.

Liberty Media have been in charge of F1 for just over a year now, and have polarised figures in the sport and fans alike with their decisions. In 2021 they are set to standardise engines and introduce a budget cap for teams to level the playing field, and Brown has predicted that the talks are going to be difficult.

“It’s definitely going to be turbulent, the negotiations for 2021 and beyond,” Brown commented.

“I think they’re doing all the right things commercially - they’re going make some mistakes along the way but it would be unfair to think they will to score a 10/10 on everything.

“They’re going to learn but I’m happy with all the efforts and incremental things they’re trying. On the rules front you’ve got 10 teams which probably means eight different opinions, so that’s a difficult situation.

“I think they need to move quickly and aligned with the FIA. There’s a lot of conversation about ‘Liberty, Liberty’,” he added. “The FIA has as much impact on what happens in the sport moving forward as Liberty so I think the conversation has to be ‘Liberty and the FIA’ not just ‘Liberty’.”

No matter what the decision may eventually be, Brown hopes that it can be finalised sooner rather than later so that teams can have enough preparation time before 2021.

“In some areas the FIA has a greater responsibility because of the technical aspect of the sport, engine changes. I think the FIA and Liberty need to move quickly so we can have as little or as short a time of negotiations, because they will be turbulent, so the longer that goes the more disruptive it becomes.

“Also to be fully prepared for 2021, if new manufacturers and teams are going to come in we know it takes a couple of years, so time is ticking. I want us landing on what 2021 looks like by the middle of this season. I think anything longer than that starts to become technically challenging."