Zak Brown guns Ferrari: “They live in denial”

The sacred union between the stables of Formula 1 facing the Coronavirus crisis will not last long. Few will be surprised. After the Melbourne debacle, the “obvious” unanimities, to use the words of Cyril Abiteboul, were quickly adopted in order to postpone the 2021 technical revolution for a year, to move forward and extend the compulsory closure of factories, or even to ban 2022 aerodynamic development this season. 

But as soon as we approached more sensitive subjects, the beautiful facade was shattered. Unsurprisingly, the large engines on the board, notably Ferrari et Red Bull, quietly campaign for nothing to move, while the independents in the middle, Renault but especially McLaren, want the reforms to go much further. 

Annoyed by the positions of his counterpart Mattia Binotto, in particular his refusal to lower the budget ceiling below 145 million dollars (135 million euros), Zak Brown responded point by point Thursday during a press conference with our British colleagues. And the Woking boss didn't hold back. 

Brown thus castigates Ferrari's desire not to react quickly and urgently. “ I don't know what to say to that, declared the American, in comments reported by Racefans. The planet is going through one of the worst crises of its existence, entire countries and industries are completely paralyzed. Not rushing to find a solution is a serious mistake. This is like living in denial. Right now, any president, prime minister, or CEO in the world is on deck to confront the crisis and find urgent solutions. Taking your time in this context is a lack of leadership ».

This is not the first time McLaren boss worries about consequences of COVID-19 crisis on F1 and some of its stables. A message that he hammered home again.

« If sport keeps its old habits, it faces serious danger, added Brown. We have to think differently, move forward, and live with the times. This would allow us not only to survive this crisis but to emerge stronger. I am always ready to debate calmly but the arguments that I have heard here and there contradict each other, make no sense, and do not reflect the reality of the situation. ».

Brown also rejected the possibility of resorting to customer cars, as first suggested by Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner. A measure which also received the support of Ferrari. 

« We talk about the future and we release this solution that smells of the 1970s, hisses the American. People talk to me about preserving the DNA of F1 and we campaign for customer cars ».

Brown is ironic here about one of the reasons often given by the big cars to keep the budget cap at a high level, namely that a cap that is too low would cause the value of the premier category to drop. 

« We know motorsport well enough to know that there is no series that comes even remotely close to F1 in terms of technology., estimates the Woking boss. I don't know of any championship where the level of spending is so high, where the size of the teams is so imposing. Most other categories are partially or completely monotypes. So I don't think at all that a reduction in the cap budget would harm the DNA of Formula 1, its place as a technological leader. ».

When it was pointed out to Brown that Ferrari was seeking to preserve the jobs of its employees out of moral duty, the McLaren boss could not help but deliver the final blow.

« Since we're talking about ethics, I think it would be great if Mattia agreed to share with us the details of the secret agreement between Ferrari and FIA regarding the legality of their engine, Brown suggested. The FIA ​​has declared itself in favor and I think it would be a good thing for transparency reasons ». 

After this shootout, we imagine that the atmosphere will be rather cool during the next video conference between the main teams...