Formula 1: McLaren chief Zak Brown calls for cost cap changes to remove sustainability ‘barriers’

McLaren published their annual sustainability report on Wednesday; the team have called for significant changes to the sport’s cost cap regulations to enable greater investment in sustainability projects and initiatives

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has called for changes to Formula 1’s cost cap rules to enable teams to invest more into sustainability projects and initiatives.

The sport introduced a cost cap for the 2021 season which is designed to bring the field closer together and ultimately create more competitive racing.

While releasing their annual sustainability report on Thursday, McLaren criticised the fact that “costs incurred for sustainability initiatives sit within the cost cap unless they are directly attributable to an existing exclusion.”

The Woking-based team say they have held discussions on the topic with the sport’s organisers, its governing body the FIA, and other teams, but Wednesday’s statement represents a very public push for change when a new set of regulations are implemented in 2026.

“We strongly believe in the cost cap and wouldn’t want to see anything that undermines its integrity,” Brown said. “But current regulations have created some unintended barriers when it comes to investing in sustainability.”

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown says the sport’s cost cap has created ‘unintended barriers’

“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.”

Along with sustainability projects, McLaren want cost cap exclusions created for diversity, equity and inclusion projects, team wellbeing initiatives, and costs for intern and apprentice programmes to help provide pathways into motorsport and STEM careers

Brown added: “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.”

The report also revealed progress for the team in reaching sustainability targets, with a 22 per cent reduction in GHG emissions compared to their 2019 baseline, along with a nine per cent reduction in air freight emissions over a two-year period as a result of transporting equipment by sea freight.

McLaren also revealed that 33 per cent of new starters in the last year came from under-represented backgrounds, while six per cent of their workforce are now trained as mental health first aiders.

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McLaren director of sustainability Kim Wilson added: “Our mission to ‘set the standard for performance in sport’ applies to sustainability as much as it applies to our on-track performance.

“And as the only racing team to participate in F1, IndyCar, Formula E and Extreme E as well as eSports we have a unique opportunity to foster innovation and cross-learning across our sport to accelerate the changes needed to positively address our economic, environmental and social impacts.

“While as a team, we can point to significant progress in delivering operational improvements across our four sustainability pillars last year, I hope that we are demonstrating through our actions that we are willing to experiment and share our learnings with other teams, our regulators and stakeholders.

“It is now time for accelerated action and industry-wide collaboration that drives meaningful change in the next few years.”