McLaren's Zak Brown rues F1 dropping Chinese GP, hopes 'they will get the corona affairs in order'

McLaren's Zak Brown is disappointed that F1 will not go to China in 2023 for the Chinese GP. The sport recently announced that it will not race in China next year due to COVID-19-related restrictions.

Brown also believes F1 should only replace the race in Shanghai if there is an appropriate replacement. He has not made any claims, however, about which track could take its place next year. The sport is reportedly already in talks with promoters of Portimao for another Portuguese GP. The race in China is set to be canceled for the fourth year running due to the country's stringent rules on the coronavirus, which still affects its citizens.

The McLaren boss claims that China is a good market for F1 and hopes that the country gets its coronavirus protocols in order soon. He told Sky Sports:

"We shouldn't fill the gap just to fill it. It's a pity we're not going to China. It is an important market. Hopefully they will get the corona affairs in order and we can return in 2024,"

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F1 could see more innovation if technical freedom was allowed, claims McLaren boss

McLaren boss Zak Brown feels F1 could see more innovation if the cost cap allows a little more technical freedom. The sport's cost cap is heavily regulated to try and bridge the gap between all teams.

The team boss told the media:

"If you've got a cost cap, then there should actually be some more technical freedom within the cost cap. You would then see more innovations and risk-taking and the cars would look even more different. If you have the cap, then you've kind of got two [guidelines] as 'Everything has to look exactly like that' and 'You can't spend more than that'. Just stop with the spend and do [what] you want. I think you would bring out more innovation, and everyone would learn from each other."

The idea of a level playing field has taken a central seat in F1's idea for the future. McLaren's Zak Brown, however, feels the sport should allow more technical freedom whilst still under the cost cap. Brown argues that increased technical freedom would allow for more innovation and would lead to different car concepts on the grid.

What that technical innovation looks like, however, will remain purely speculative as the sport has no plans to change its technical regulations to Brown's liking at the moment.