McLaren has called for changes to the Formula 1 rules to make it easier for teams to comply with regulations.
McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown says F1’s increased budget allows teams to hold their own against the competition.
He added that any changes should be planned to ensure that they do not create mechanisms that allow for excessive spending.
“There needs to be a way to define the areas you can use outside the cap so we can work to make F1 more sustainable,” Brown said.
F1 as a sport has made sustainability a central part of its future planning and has pledged to be net-zero carbon by 2030.
But the target poses major challenges for industries that use internal combustion engines and where cars are made of carbon-fiber, which is notoriously polluting and difficult to recycle.
The budget cap for F1, which is set this year at $135m [£108.5m]is one of several measures introduced into the rule book in recent years in an attempt to close the game and make the competition more competitive.
F1 is already planning to use carbon-neutral, fully sustainable fuel in the new engines that will be delivered in 2026.
But Mr Brown, the head of McLaren Racing, said F1 could move forward by creating “a clear framework and rules for finance, technology and sport that enable us all to innovate and invest in sustainability”.
He added: “Sustainability has been on the radar for a long time. Now that everyone is pushing it properly, there are areas where we think we can invest in sustainable technology that may not bring long-term benefits that are not really mentioned in the financial rules.
“So what we want to see is a change in the financial rules that allow you to use fixed income, where (at the moment) if teams have access to money that they can do quickly (in areas that are) not stable, there will be teams that make that money.”
Brown said one of McLaren’s “moonshot” ambitions was to create a “round-the-world car”.
These are the vehicle designs that the team can focus on reducing the material used, including using recycled materials, finding ways to extend their useful life, and disposing of them properly at the end of life.
Brown says: “A lot of work may be needed to understand: ‘Is that possible?’ At the same time, you can make the same amount of money without having to put in the effort to improve your race car.”
McLaren’s Director of Sustainability Kim Wilson added that he believed the strategy could continue into the 2026 technical regulations, with discussions already underway.
“Technical rules are an opportunity to make the game better for the teams so that the rules make us all do the same thing,” Wilson said.
“So, for example, maybe a part of the car needs to be made of sustainable materials without risking the ability to overcome the engineering experts.
“But then we also have the opportunity to research and develop and the incentive to develop sustainable products that are being used in cars.”
