F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Brown on 2021 rules: F1 needs "to get the show on the road"

McLaren boss Zak Brown says Formula 1 needs to lay down the law when it comes to the sport's 2021 regulations, insisting the sport will never end up with the "perfect rules".

F1, the FIA and the teams agreed to push back on a June deadline to freeze Grand Prix racing's future regulations, allowing discussions - or rather dissensions - to continue until late October before setting the rules in stone.

Brown admits that teams have little chance of reaching consensus on several recurring topics where a divide remains, and therefore urges F1's chiefs to end the stonewalling and "get the show on the road".

"We’re talking about the same issue time and time again," he said, quoted by RaceFans.net.

"Very little progress is made because all the teams have stated their position, and that’s not going to change.

"So it seems like we revisit the same issues that the various teams have, and so I think at this point Formula 1 and the FIA just need to make the decision and get on with it because I don’t think they’re going to hear anything new from the teams at the next Strategy Group meeting or the following Strategy Group meeting that they haven’t heard for the last 12 months.

"The idea, and you guys [the media] all know this as well as anyone, that the 10 teams are somehow going to converge for the first time in the history of Formula 1 in the next three months is just not going to happen. I think it’s just time to get the show on the road."

While a broad agreement was reached several months ago among the various parties on the sport's financial governance, discord among some still exists with regard to a few areas of the technical rules, such as the standardization of parts which Ferrari opposes.

As far as McLaren is concerned, Brown would have been happy to see the regs signed and sealed in June, insisting F1 was wrong to prolong the discussions in search for a "perfect" set of rules.

"I would have been happy to lock down the regulations in June because I’m of the opinion [that] we’ll make some progress between June and October but I don’t think we’ll make substantial change," said the American.

"You’re never going to end up with perfect rules.

"You’re going to have to modify along the way anyway. And so I don’t think this extra five months that we have is going to make that much different.

"I think we’ll be arm-wrestling on October 30th just like we were on June 20th or whatever the date is."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

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