McLaren CEO Zak Brown has told Formula 1 owners Liberty Media to push on with an overhaul of the regulations in 2021, regardless of opposition.
Talks have been ongoing for some time to agree a new Concorde Agreement which would come into effect in two years time, but the top manufacturers, Mercedes and Ferrari, are pushing back against some of the more radical ideas.
Changes to the engines have already been watered down and now the focus is shifting to the commercial aspect, with a budget cap and equal distribution of revenue part of Liberty’s agenda.
“We know change in F1 is difficult and we also know F1 today is a broken model, both as a business and as an on-track product, that is going to need to be changed,” Brown declared to Autosport.
“Those that are winning today will obviously feel the compromise about what is happening, and those are not winning today are going to like the plan.
“It was inevitable that Chase [Carey, F1 chairman] would bring forward a plan that some people like and some people don’t like. But, he needs to move forward with what he thinks is in the best interest of the sport.”
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The McLaren chief believes that if F1 continues on its current path then eventually “everyone loses” and therefore it should be in all teams’ interest to take a long-term view rather focus on interim compromises.
Brown does believe, however, that there is a general consensus on the future direction of the sport and, after an initial draft of regulations was proposed last April in Bahrain, negotiations are now focused on the finer details.
“All that has really happened since [Bahrain] was drilling deeper – what is in the budget cap and what isn’t in the budget cap?” he explained.
“I know that not all the teams are aligned but I think a majority are. At McLaren, we are very supportive of what was presented in Bahrain and I think the sooner we can get that on the road to implementation the better.
“I believe Chase and [motorsport director] Ross Brawn are going to move forward on that basis,” the American stated.
“Their view is ‘we presented it in Bahrain, we’ve been working together, we’ve been consistent on where we are going so this is what we are doing’, but I think some people haven’t accepted that yet.”
