McLaren CEO Zak Brown is reported to have sent a letter to the FIA in which he has called for a penalty that is more severe than a fine for teams that exceeded Formula 1’s budget cap.
The FIA has been reviewing the expenditures of all of the teams over the past few months, and it recently confirmed that it found Red Bull and Aston Martin in breach of last year’s cap of $145 million.
While initial rumours claimed that the Austrian team had overspent by more than five per cent – which would constitute a material breach – it has been confirmed to be within a minor breach.
This means to say that they have spent no more than $152.25m, but shortly after Christian Horner’s team were found in breach, it published a statement refuting any contravention of the financial regulations.
Aston Martin, meanwhile, was found in procedural breach, and the British side has not yet released a public comment regarding the findings. The FIA has not specified exactly what Aston Martin is guilty of, but it is thought to be related to paperwork.
Earlier this year, Williams was fined $25,000 after it submitted their files after the deadline had passed.
The governing body is currently deciding on a suitable punishment for both teams, taking into account any mitigating factors, but no timeline has yet been set for a decision.
It should be noted that Brown made no mention of either team in his letter, obtained by the BBC.
However, the American implied that Red Bull might have gained a “significant advantage” as a result of their alleged transgression.
“The overspend breach, and possibly the procedural breaches, constitute cheating by offering a significant advantage across technical, sporting and financial regulations,” wrote Brown.
“The FIA has run an extremely thorough, collaborative and open process. We have even been given a one-year dress rehearsal (in 2020), with ample opportunity to seek any clarification if details were unclear. So, there is no reason for any team to now say they are surprised.
“The bottom line is any team who has overspent has gained an unfair advantage both in the current and following year’s car development.
“We don’t feel a financial penalty alone would be a suitable penalty for an overspend breach or a serious procedural breach. There clearly needs to be a sporting penalty in these instances, as determined by the FIA.
“We suggest that the overspend should be penalised by way of a reduction to the team’s cost cap in the year following the ruling, and the penalty should be equal to the overspend plus a further fine – i.e. an overspend of $2m in 2021, which is identified in 2022, would result in a $4m deduction in 2023.
“For context, $2m is [a] 25-50% upgrade to [an] annual car-development budget and hence would have a significant positive and long-lasting benefit.
“In addition, we believe there should be minor overspend sporting penalties of a 20% reduction in CFD and wind tunnel time.
“These should be enforced in the following year, to mitigate against the unfair advantage the team has and will continue to benefit from.”
Perhaps another team should write to the FIA, NCA, and HMRC, requesting a full investigation into Zak Brown’s job history at McLaren. He has spent the last six years running McLaren like a kid playing with toys at the expense of financially ruining the entire McLaren Group while getting richer in the process; and yet (somehow) still maintaining his job. Figure that one out! Why is no one writing about this, and why is Zak Brown so protected from both the motorsport media and McLaren shareholders? Either he’s got something on the shareholders, or he’s got something fishy going with them. A financially healthy organization is not handed over to someone with zero experience, only for it to be ruined within a few years, without changes being made. There is no doubt about it, under normal circumstance at any other team, a person with his track record after only one-two years would have been replaced immediately.
What makes that fat cunt think he is in a position to be dictating what penalties should be imposed for what breach of the regulations? His time would be better spent on finding out why his own team’s cars are shit most weekends.
You are 100% right. Despite one fluke victory their results since he took over are hardly any better, and often worse, than when they had Honda lawn motor power (worst motor in F1 history by far) under Ron, even though they have used both Renault and Mercedes power.
I would love to know exactly how in the hell Zak got into such a high position in F1 at one of the most prestigious teams in the history of the sport with no experience in F1 other than running some sort of questionable marketing company that was allegedly “the largest motorsport marketing agency in the world”, yet after 6 years he still hasn’t found a title sponsor for McLaren, just a bunch of unrecognizable $1 deals plastered all over the car like graffiti. Like someone said above, something seems very “fishy” to me about him. I mean, under his leadership McLaren have had to sell their historic car collection, lay off 25% of its employees, sell McLaren Applied Technologies (was the most profitable group at McLaren under Ron), and also sold the McLaren Technology Centre just to barely keep the doors open, yet somehow they can afford nonsense like Indy Car and Extreme E, but still don’t have a Le Mans programme when they are a sports car manufacturer? lol, OK sounds legit to me.
You guys are all dumb asses. What the hell does that have to do with that dirty bastard Horner cheating, with his little entitled bitch Max. You guys don’t want to admit the truth cause you are all afraid that Red bull will lose title and Lewis Hamilton will be considered the best of all time forever. STFU you little whining pussies. LMAO you are all pathetic.
The only pathetic thing around here is when a sad cunt like you starts whining about how his little darling bling boy got beat and it isn’t fair. Well get fuckinh used to it you griping piece of shit, because even if Mercedes come up with the fastest car again Russell will kick his arse in it like he’s done this year. So shut up yourself and accept he’s a fucking loser.