Formula One racing chief Ross Brawn has welcomed five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s commitment to shaping the sport’s crucial regulations for 2021 and beyond.
After winning the French Grand Prix, Hamilton spoke openly about his desire to see F1 change dramatically at the next rule change, despite the fact he is currently dominating the championship. That victory has given him a commanding 36-point championship lead over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas before the half-way point in the season.
Hamilton attended a summit in Paris earlier this month aimed at shaping the next set of rules. That meeting led to a delay in the publication of the next rules, which will aim to fix the imbalance in performance and finances on the grid, until October of this year. Brawn, who was boss of Mercedes when Hamilton joined from McLaren in 2013, said it is imperative the sport considers the opinion of its drivers before making a final decision.
“I’m happy Lewis has confirmed his willingness to make his own contribution in the coming months, and we can’t wait to work with him, particularly in each of the three meetings now scheduled,” Brawn said. “We know well that Formula One needs to make an important change in direction if it wants to maintain its position as one of the most followed sporting spectacles in the world.
“All of the key stakeholders — ourselves, the FIA and the teams — agree on the objectives and there is broad agreement on the major principles, such as the introduction of the budget cap and a fairer distribution of the revenue, while on the technical aspects we, and the FIA, have worked together with engineers from all the teams.
“It will be great to have an input directly from the drivers.”
In reference to Hamilton’s claim the drivers had never been invited to the process, Brawn said: “The door for drivers has always been open and it’s a pity that so often in the past this opportunity has not been taken by all the parties, and it is great to see this new initiative.
“To sum up, Lewis, we are delighted with yours and all of the drivers’ contributions.”
In France, Hamilton said he felt the proposed 2021 regulations were a long way off where they needed to be. The Englishman has suggested F1 takes the teams out of the rule-making process and hires someone with no connections to an existing team to oversee the planning. “If Mercedes keeps up this pace it could seal the Constructors’ Championship by Monza, with a third of the season still left! Let’s be clear: Lewis, Valtteri and Mercedes are not to blame for a season verging on perfection, and it should be obvious that the rule changes we want to introduce are not directed against a team that is rewriting the record books.
“But we must all understand that the sport we love needs more competition, so that other teams can also aspire to podium finishes and it is not just a few powerful teams that dominate.”