Rudy CarezzevoliGetty Images
- The way the current budget cap in Formula 1 is constructed, teams currently have to balance spending on car performance or sustainability initiatives.
- Formula 1 has made sustainability a key pillar of its long-term targets and has set a goal of being net carbon zero by 2030.
- McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes F1 could do more to help teams meet save-the-planet initiatives.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has called for changes to be made to Formula 1’s financial regulations to help sustainability initiatives within the championships.
Formula 1 introduced financial regulations in 2021 and a raft of exclusions are included in the cost cap, some for environmental purposes if they are directly attributable to an existing exclusion.
However, these are minimal when it comes to sustainability, meaning teams currently have to balance spending on car performance or sustainability initiatives.
Formula 1 has made sustainability a key pillar of its long-term targets and has set a goal of being net carbon zero by 2030.
Governing body the FIA recently formed a sustainability working group and allowed for additional measures to be excluded from the cost cap but McLaren wants to go further.
Alongside exclusions for diversity projects, STEM initiatives and apprentice programs, McLaren wants a set of comprehensive exclusions that supports investment in sustainability projects without compromising the cost cap’s integrity.
It has suggested that technical regulations should encourage the adoption of more sustainable materials while also supporting research and development of a ‘fully circular F1 car’, which would focus on minimizing wasteful resources and the utilization of renewable materials.
McLaren has also called for ‘clear sustainability criteria’ to be introduced into the Concorde Agreement—the document which binds together Formula 1, the FIA and the teams—and to set out core requirements for race calendars, the paddock and motorhomes.
“We strongly believe in the cost cap and wouldn’t want to see anything that undermines its integrity, but current regulations have created some unintended barriers when it comes to investing in sustainability,” said Brown. “It’s been fantastic to see so much support from F1 and other teams on this issue, and we’re delighted that the FIA has established a working group to explore next steps.
“But to unlock our sport’s potential to drive the development of more sustainable technologies that can spark positive changes on a global scale, we need a genuine step change. That requires a level playing field so teams can work towards achieving the same targets and no longer need to choose between investing in car performance and investing in sustainability.
“Our sport needs a clear regulatory framework with financial, technical and sporting regulations that better enable us all to innovate and invest in sustainability.
“We need to find better ways to share expertise and insights across our industry. Only true collaboration will help us drive meaningful change. And if we want to achieve a step change with the new set of 2026 regulations, then those decisions need to be made now.”
Elsewhere in F1…
Essential personnel were permitted access to Formula 1’s paddock at Imola on Thursday after being prohibited to enter on Wednesday due to weather conditions. Formula 1 canceled the event, owing to the devastation caused by flooding and landslides in the Emilia Romagna region, and pack-up of the paddock and infrastructure has now begun. There is not anticipated to be any delay in readying equipment for next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. Spectators who had purchased tickets for the canceled race will be offered refunds or a deferral for the 2024 grand prix. Ferrari has pledged $1 million to Emilia-Romagna’s Agency for Territorial Safety and Civil Protection, which will help the local population affected by flooding.
Read the full article here