Brown: Abu Dhabi controversy not proof 'sport is corrupt'

McLaren boss Zak Brown has dismissed accusations in the wake of last month's controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that F1 is "corrupt".

The decisions that marked F1's 2021 title decider at Yas Marina has sparked a fiery debate, with some suggesting that the one-lap shootout between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen that handed the title to the latter was purposefully manufactured by race director Michael Masi to offer fans a gripping finale.

While there was certainly a will on the part of Masi to prevent the race and the championship from being sealed by a anti-climatic safety car period, Brown doesn’t believe there was any intentional foul play involved.

"I don't think this was a malicious decision," said Brown, quoted by Motorsport.com. "So for those that might have a view that the sport’s corrupt, etc. I don't agree with that.

"Do I think potentially a different decision could have been made? Yes, probably. But I want to wait to see what the FIA comes out with.

"I think we've all seen in sport before, referees make decisions that the people disagree with.

"Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're wrong. It gets pretty exciting. But then the [new] season starts and it soon becomes a thing that, while you never forget about, it was a thing of the past."

The FIA has committed to shed light on the events that determined the 2021 championship's outcome in Abu Dhabi with a comprehensive report that is expected to be made public in March ahead of the start of the 2022 season in Bahrain.

• Read also: Brown urges F1/FIA reform after Abu Dhabi 'pantomime'

Regardless of the report's future findings, Brown underscored the importance of the governing body delivering a broad and exhaustive account of F1's contentious finale.

In time however, the controversy will die down insists the McLaren boss.

"I think with all controversies in sport, in time, as soon as the next season starts, the wounds start to heal," said the American.

"But I do think the FIA needs to come out with a, here's what happened, here's how and why we think it happened; here's what was right, here's what was wrong, and whatever they're going to come out with in the report

"And then show that they've taken action to make sure it doesn't happen again."

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