Despite McLaren’s intentions at the beginning of the year to enter Formula E, the scenario is still unclear concerning this initiative.
Zak Brown, Chairman of the team, admitted that uncertainty remains as to whether or not joining the FIA World Championship, as planned in 2022, especially after Audi, BMW and Mercedes announced they would be leaving the series.
McLaren signed an option to join Formula E for its ninth season in 2022-23, but Brown, commander of the team involved in Formula 1 and the NTT IndyCar Series, plus a future commitment to Extreme E, points out that there are many doubts about their participation, especially now that some prestigious manufacturers have left.
Careful Investigation
Brown says a decision has not yet been made, and they are evaluating whether joining the electric category is financially viable for McLaren. “In Formula E, we’re looking to see how it continues developing,” he told GP Fans. “Obviously, with Audi and BMW leaving, it’s a bit of a concern.”
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“We’re not quite sure if it’s commercially viable, we’re still looking at that. Is it an operational distraction? Formula E teams are getting quite big now. They’re talking about putting a cost limit on it. That’s not done yet, but a Formula E team has 60 to 70 people and currently doesn’t have a cost cap. So, we don’t know yet if it will be economically feasible. I don’t think it will be,” he explained.
Brown pointed out that other competitions in their sights give them more doubts about revenue. “With everything we have with IndyCar, with Extreme E, we don’t know if it’s the right time. We like what Formula E represents, we like the racing. We’ve been participating as a supplier, so those are the things in our consideration set,” he stressed.
He stated that they expect to communicate their final decision later this year, and hope that the horizon will become clearer in December.
Written by I Jhonattan González
