Teams looking at standard parts for cost reduction, says Brown

McLaren's Zak Brown says that F1 teams are considering a set of standardised parts as  a viable approach to reduce costs.

Grand Prix racing's restructuring is still in its infancy following its takeover by Liberty Media, but one topic all teams agree on is the necessity to reduce the costs of building a Formula 1 car.

A budget-cap, in some form or the other, is now viewed as a necessity , the recent demise of minnow outfit Manor Racing only underlining the urgency of change.

"There are some that think we should standardise some parts," Zak Brown told Autosport.

"Teams have shown they're very clever. I don't think you can control costs just by controlling what's on the cars.

"We'll just find other areas, the windtunnel being a great example: we pulled that back and now CFD budgets are through the roof, so I don't think you can manage it only by standardisation of parts."

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While Brown believes standardization is a viable approach, a clear cap on costs and capital expenditures remains the preferred avenue for F1, bringing in line with other disciplines in the sports arena.

"You can do some of that and I don't think the consumer knows visibly what the suspension on our car looks like, compared to the suspension on a Williams, as an example.

"So I think things can be standardised to reduce costs that don't improve the show and the fans don't recognise the difference.

"But I still think we need a budget cap, which most other sports have."

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