Brown: "Ferrari-Liberty confrontations inevitable"

Zak Brown thinks the showdown between Ferrari and Liberty Media was "inevitable". With Liberty reportedly proposing a fairer income distribution system among other things, Ferrari has threatened to quit F1. McLaren executive Brown told AS newspaper: "It was inevitable that there would be a confrontation between Ferrari and Liberty.

"Ferrari wants to protect the money they receive, because they receive a disproportionate amount. We all recognise that Ferrari as a team has added more value to the sport than anyone and should be rewarded accordingly. But I think it is very unbalanced, and that Liberty only wants and has to do the best for the sport," he added.

Since joining McLaren, Brown has clearly developed a strong relationship with Fernando Alonso and has let the Spaniard race at the Indy 500 and now Le Mans. "Alonso does what other drivers are not brave enough to dare and I admire that," he said. "I did not know him before and obviously he had a reputation for being difficult to work with, but I've found that it's great to work with him."

And he thinks that although Alonso will be busy with his sports car programme in 2018, he will also be much happier in F1. "I think the Renault engine is close to the Mercedes," said Brown. "It won three races last year, so even though people think it's the third best engine, I think they're all very close to each other."

As for Alonso being world champion, Brown answered: "This year? It's possible. We'll see. In the future, he will be champion again. He is driving better than ever so it's up to us to give him a chance." (GMM)