Brown: F1 becoming ‘more competitive’, like IndyCar

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown believes Formula 1 is edging closer to achieving the tight level of performance that has long characterized IndyCar, a series renowned for its close, action-packed races.

For years, IndyCar has relied on a spec Dallara chassis and only two engine manufacturers engine formula, meaning all teams use the same or very similar equipment and hardware.

But the emphasis on parity extends beyond chassis and engines to other components, such as tyres and aero kits. This equality in equipment levels the playing field, making it more about driver skill and team strategy, and has fostered incredibly competitive racing.

In 2023, F1 has also witnessed a narrowing of the performance gap between teams, thanks in large part to the sport’s budget cap and to restrictive aero rules.

This trend has led to some thrilling qualifying sessions, with the field often separated by mere tenths of a second.

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However, while IndyCar has thrived with seven different race winners spanning four teams, race-day competitiveness has presented a contrasting picture in F1.

Red Bull claimed an impressive 21 wins out of 22 Grands Prix in 2023, propelling Max Verstappen to his third consecutive world championship.

Brown, who heads teams in both Formula 1 and IndyCar, maintains that F1 is not far from achieving an IndyCar level of parity as the current technical regulations persist into 2024 and 2025.

"If you look at the timesheets even these teams that are ninth and 10th [in the standings] are a threat for Q3," Brown said.

"For the championship, it's probably going to be the same cast of characters, but I think Formula 1 is going to get more competitive.

"I think it's going to be more like IndyCar where there's a lot of drivers that can win at any one time and rarely someone runs away with the championship.

"If Max had slipped on a banana peel, the championship would have looked quite a bit different with how many people have been on the podium, how many people are finished second.

"I'm anticipating that getting closer and I think it'll be great for the sport, that there won't be this level of dominance and it'll be like seven, eight drivers that can win in any one weekend.

"That'll be awesome for the sport and I think that's where we're headed."

When asked how long it will take for Red Bull's advantage to be wiped away, Brown did caution that it remains to be seen how much more performance the world champion squad has in its pocket after being able to switch to the 2024 car project earlier than most rivals.

"We're kind of here now, unless Max and Red Bull continue doing what they're doing," he added.

"Everyone's caught him at some point for a window of a weekend, so I don't think anyone's mega far away.

"But again, we don't know when Red Bull stopped [developing]. And I don't think we'll know that until next year if they have continued to run hard. I don't think they've run as hard as the rest of us, they just haven't needed to.

"But Ferrari has looked damn strong, Mercedes on Saturdays, we've had our days, Aston [Martin] started super strong; so I think we're not far away from that convergence."

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