Zach Brown: We deliberately kept silent before the CRB decision

In early September, the FIA ​​Contracts Recognition Board (CRB) confirmed that McLaren had a right of way over Oscar Piastri, and that the talented Australian would drive for the team in 2023.

This came just a month after Alpine announced that Piastri would replace Fernando Alonso next season and become Esteban Ocon’s new teammate. It turned out that the Renault factory team leaders were not quite right about Oscar’s obligations to Alpine, which was confirmed by CRB lawyers.

However, Alpine F1 head Otmar Szafnauer has insisted all month that they have a legitimate contract with Piastri, signed last November, and assured CRB will certainly side with them.

McLaren, on the other hand, opted for a different tactic: although it was already known that the team would say goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo at the end of 2022, there were no statements about Piastri before the CRB decision.

“There was a lot of noise, but we didn’t say anything. I think it was better to let things run their course and then give them some color,” McLaren Racing chief executive Zach Brown said in an interview with NBC Sports. – If you remember all of Otmar’s comments, he explained everything in detail and even before the CRB meeting he talked about how confident they were (of their right) I think he put himself in a stupid position.

That’s why it was best to keep quiet, but now that that specific information has surfaced, we can talk about anything. Before the CRB decision became public, we deliberately kept silent. But now that all the details are known, it becomes clear what exactly happened. We knew things would eventually clear up, and we should have waited for the issue to be resolved and not made any hasty comments.”

At the same time, McLaren Racing will face another controversial situation, but already in IndyCar, where they claim the services of Alex Palou, last year’s series champion. But the problem is that the Chip Ganassi Racing team believes the 25-year-old Spaniard should continue to drive for them in 2023.

The parties continue to try to reach an agreement one way or another, and now the second round of these talks is underway, as no one wants the matter to go to trial. When asked if there was a need for CRB-style bodywork in IndyCar, Brown replied: “We received the verdict (in the Piastri case) within a week. In its entire existence, this council has only met three times, but in my opinion, this situation first occurred in IndyCar.

In general, I don’t know if such a body is needed there, because his services may not be needed in 20 years, but CRB works well in Formula 1.