McLaren has called for adoption of secret balloting in Formula 1. It insists that open balloting pressurizes different teams to vote in a certain way. It says that it affect the true opinions of teams and fetches the spirit of voting.
The Woking-based outfit has long been surfacing its opinion on the matter of partnerships. It wants all the teams to work independently for a better future of Formula 1 sport. It wants all the teams to be the better contenders.
Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, pen down his opinion on McLaren Formula 1 team website. He insisted that the collaborations between F1 contenders shall end. He calls FIA to intervene on the matter and end alliances.
He believes that alliances are affecting the F1 through voting. He insisted that many teams are forced, due to their dependency on others, to align themselves with the teams on voting board. It puts undue pressure on lower teams to no deviate from their partnerships.
“Currently, decisions about the future of the sport can be halted by a minority, rather than majority, and they are further skewed by some teams’ voting power being in favour of their affiliated team partner,” wrote Brown.
“There have even been instances when an affiliated team, to satisfy its bigger partner, has voted in favour of a clear disadvantage to itself. This isn’t sport. This isn’t putting the fans first.
“It is a situation that must be addressed and so we call for secret ballot voting to be implemented in all F1 Commission meetings with immediate effect.
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“In other sports the regulatory body has the power of governance because they always focus on what is in the best interests of the sport overall, which should be the key consideration in Formula 1.
“With a change in the voting procedures, it could lead to more agile decision-making that would ultimately benefit the interests of the fans and in doing so the sport at large, including the participants.”
Changes in F1 regulations have to go through voting which requires majority. The total votes are 30 where 10 each are associated to FIA, F1 and ten teams of F1 with each team bearing single vote. The rule change requires 28 out of 30 votes.
“The rise of team affiliations has become unhealthy for our sport,” he added. “It is not in the best interests of competition if two rivals, or even three, share assets and align strategically.
“One of the fundamental principles of Formula 1, as opposed to other one-make racing series, is an open competition between constructors.
“I do not wish to see the number of teams in F1 reduce, but team affiliations remain an issue because they do not promote a level playing field. This is where further changes need to be made to the governance of Formula 1.
“There have always been conflicts of interest in Formula 1 and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon. So it’s even more important that F1 and the FIA, who have no other agenda than the whole sport’s success, call the shots in the best interests in F1 and not be blocked and slowed at every turn.”
