Zak Brown claims F1 could soon match IndyCar’s level of competitiveness

Formula 1 has faced criticism for Red Bull's historic dominance this year.

Zak Brown claims F1 could soon match IndyCar’s level of competitiveness

Zak Brown (via IMAGO)

The 2023 F1 season displayed a nearly untouched performance from the dominant Max Verstappen throughout the year. However, fans want the sport to produce more racing action and challenges in the front. Now, McLaren CEO Zak Brown pointed out the increasing resemblance between Formula 1 and IndyCar and how the F1 could match the level of convergence of the American series.

Notably, the Woking outfit of McLaren also has a team in the American sport of IndyCar. The McLaren CEO, Zak Brown also has a pivotal role in the success of the orange team in IndyCar as well. The Briton highlighted that in F1, even the bottom-order of teams were a threat to the race leaders during qualifying sessions. Although the championship contenders wouldn’t change, the sport will get more competitive overall according to Brown.

If you look at the timesheets even these teams that are ninth and 10th [in the standings] are a threat for Q3, 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.
Brown said, as reported by motorsport.com.
YouTube video

The 52-year-old asserted that the sport of Formula 1 would be more like IndyCar where more drivers were fighting for the win. Additionally, in IndyCar, there’s rarely any domination alike Verstappen’s in this season. Brown also talked about the situation of Formula 1, if Verstappen was not a part of the championship contention this season.

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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.

Red Bull isn’t much far ahead compared to McLaren

McLaren displayed a great comeback after a massive early-season slump. The team, at times was close to replicating Red Bull’s pace and could have overtaken the team on a few occasions. According to Brown, the Woking wasn’t much far behind Red Bull and he insisted how one is mega far away from the team in terms of pace.

McLaren squad involving Lando Norris, Zak Brown, Oscar Piastri and Andrea Stella.
McLaren squad involving Lando Norris, Zak Brown, Oscar Piastri, and Andrea Stella (via McLaren).

However, the 52-year-old raised concerns over the ever-developing Red Bull and how the team is continuously moving ahead in terms of pace. However, Mercedes and Ferrari were also very strong towards the end of the season as depicted from the close competition for the runner-up spot in the constructor’s championship.

Additionally, Aston Martin was also closing in on the other teams at times in the races. Although the Silverstone-based team fell behind rivals in the latter half of the season. Hence, a big convergence between all the teams and drivers is not impossible in the near future. The changing regulations and cost-caps would also further enable other teams to take part in the competition for the top spot soon.

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