Brown wants tougher penalties for causing a red flag

Zak Brown has backed Carlos Sainz in a call to punish drivers who cause a red flag more severely. The McLaren CEO has submitted a proposal to the FIA to review the rules surrounding the issue, reports Motorsport.

Already several times this season there have been calls for tougher action against drivers who cause a red flag in qualifying. Sainz was the most explicit, calling for the fastest time of the driver in question to be wiped out. The reasoning was that by causing a red flag you deprive other drivers of the chance to be able to set a good time. A malicious driver could thus secure his own position by deliberately causing a red flag.

Brown has now voiced his support for stricter rules in these situations, whether a driver deliberately causes the red flag or not. After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Brown raised the issue with the F1 Commission, who ruled that the FIA should look at this more comprehensively.

"They already have that in other forms of motorsport, that you lose your fastest lap," Brown explained. "You've ruined it for other drivers, it's as simple as that. I think this is the easiest solution to apply, this can be done immediately. If you're lucky you can then go again, if you're unlucky you can't."