McLaren call for change with F1 now leaving teams with ‘impossible choice’
McLaren's Lando Norris at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Sakhir, March 2023.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has called for an overhaul of the F1 regulations to end the current battle which teams face between car performance and sustainability.
Formula 1 is already putting the foundations in place for its goal to be a carbon neutral series by 2030, and the 2026 season is set to mark a key step towards that ambition with the introduction of power units featuring a greater reliance on electrical power, plus the use of fully-sustainable biofuel on the Internal Combustion Engine side.
Brown though says there is a snag, as under the current cost cap regulations, it means teams must think about the impact on performance which they can bring to their car when it comes to sustainability innovations, with these two key areas clashing.
Brown, then, is calling for a revamped set of financial, technical and sporting regulations as of 2026 to encourage these sustainability efforts without punishing on-track performance, but stressed the decisions need to be made imminently.
“Now is the time to level the playing field so teams can work towards achieving the same targets and no longer have to choose between investing in car performance and investing in sustainability,” said Brown.”It’s an impossible choice.
“Our sport needs a clear regulatory framework with financial, technical and sporting regulations that better enable us all to innovate and invest in sustainability. And if we want to achieve a step change with the new set of 2026 regulations, then those decisions need to be made now.
“What could that look like in practice? Technical regulations could actively encourage the adoption of more sustainable materials and processes to enable us to achieve our goal of developing a fully circular F1 car.
“We could introduce clear sustainability criteria to cover core requirements for the race calendars across our series, the paddock and motorhomes. Promoters and competition organisers could be required to meet certain sustainability standards.”
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Diversity and inclusion within the Formula 1 paddock is also a major topic which is being addressed, and Brown suggested solutions which he felt would open up opportunities in that regard too without once more encountering this trade-off with car performance.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as training and team wellbeing initiatives could sit outside of the cost cap,” Brown proposed.
“Likewise, costs for intern and apprentice programmes could be excluded from the cost cap so we don’t limit our ability to provide pathways into motorsport and STEM careers to people from under-represented backgrounds.”
The deadline for the 2026 regulations is almost upon us according to the FIA’s single seater director Nikolas Tombazis, who claimed they would be defined in this month of June.
