Zak Brown reminds F1 and FIA ‘it is not 1984’ amidst controversies surrounding lack of transparency

Formula 1 is in turmoil due to multiple controversies in the past few weeks. However, the sport and the FIA have failed to disclose adequate details to the public.

Zak Brown reminds F1 and FIA ‘it is not 1984’ amidst controversies surrounding lack of transparency

Zak Brown (L), Mohammed Ben Sulayem (R) (images via IMAGO).

The 2024 off-track season has constantly been flooded with shocking revelations. Following the Christian Horner investigation saga, other major news has been surfacing. Recently, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was accused of two severe allegations. Moreover, Susie Wolff reignited the entire ‘conflict of interest’ saga as the 41-year-old lodged a criminal complaint against the FIA in the French Courts. As a result, McLaren CEO Zak Brown shared his opinions on the current state of Formula 1.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was cleared of the two allegations around potentially interfering in a race result and trying to withhold the Las Vegas GP certification. However, no details were revealed to the public. Additionally, Susie Wolff‘s husband Toto Wolff also recently broke silence over the matter and shared his thoughts regarding the same. Even Lewis Hamilton asserted how he didn’t trust Ben Sulayem’s leadership in FIA.

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Following this turmoil, McLaren CEO Zak Brown openly shared his criticism of FIA and F1 over the status quo. Brown mentioned how the items that came to light were ‘very serious’. The McLaren CEO asserted that it was 2024 and not 1984, depicting how these issues should be transparent. Subsequently, the 52-year-old reiterated his wishes to conclude these serious issues with transparency and in an independent manner.

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All the items that have come to light here in recent times are very serious situations, We're living in 2024 not 1984, which means total transparency. The three situations are different but all very serious and I think we need to make sure that things are done in a transparent, truly independent manner.
Brown said, as reported by racingnews365.com.

Apart from this, Zak Brown explained how everyone in the sport should welcome transparency. However, according to the McLaren CEO, following the unanswered questions, people would keep asking the same questions. According to Brown, moving towards the third race in the season was not an ideal situation for the sport to be in.

Everyone should welcome transparency. I think until all the unanswered questions are answered people will continue to ask questions. So I don't think it's a great situation that we're in, that we're three races into the calendar and we're still talking about these issues.

Zak Brown urged the FIA to deal with issues ‘swiftly and transparently’

Zak Brown was not hesitant to call out the sport and governing body over the entire matter. Brown asserted that there wasn’t the level of transparency that was expected. The McLaren CEO called for an equal opportunity to speak up for everyone involved in the case.

There's not been the level of transparency and we need to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to speak up and we kind of know what you know as far as what we read and those appeals.
Zak Brown and Christian Horner (Via: Imago)
Zak Brown and Christian Horner (Via: Imago)

Hence, the 52-year-old explained what the authorities actually needed to do in the current situation. According to Brown, FIA as a governing body needed to address these matters swiftly. Additionally, FIA needed to address the issues transparently and provide the correct conclusions. This would ensure maximum integrity for the governing body for the fans.

So I think it's important that the FIA, as our governing body, address this swiftly, transparently and come to the right conclusions - whatever those may be.

FIA and F1 have been in a pretty uptight state following the major news. Hence, the governing body needs to work quickly upon these issues to help alleviate them soon. The fans might have their focus shifted from the sport solely due to the controversies. The 2024 season on track would also be exciting for the fans to spectate how rival teams build resistance to Red Bull dominance.