McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has penned a number of annual thoughts about the state of Formula 1, and with the NTT IndyCar Series season days away from reaching its end, the Californian has written his first “State of IndyCar” piece as viewed from Arrow McLaren’s three-car effort in the sports property owned by Penske Entertainment.
Brown opened the long missive with some of the positives he sees in the North American championship and began adding in constructive suggestions or criticisms.
“IndyCar has made strides under Penske Entertainment over the past few seasons,” Brown said. “It’s been great to see the introduction of a new hybrid power unit this year, and I couldn’t be more excited about the new TV deal with FOX. However, I believe there’s more we can do to elevate the sport.
“First and foremost, we must ensure the racing remains fair, competitive, and exciting to continue attracting the world’s top drivers. Additionally, enhancing the fan experience — at track, on TV, and across digital platforms — is crucial. We must also ensure the financial viability of the championship for all the teams. The charter system is a step in the right direction, but a lot more can be done to lift the sport to new heights.
“Next year’s schedule features 17 rounds — seven road courses, four street circuits and six ovals. I love the variety, as it challenges both drivers and engineers to adapt to different tracks. However, I see potential for further calendar improvements.
“The 2025 season finale in Nashville will take place over Labor Day weekend, which strategically avoids clashing with the start of the NFL season. However, this condenses our championship into just six months. Aside from that, I think we should look at expanding further within U.S. markets, especially on the East Coast and in major metro markets. For instance, a return to Denver has been a long time coming and the absence of Watkins Glen — which dropped off the calendar a number of years ago — continues to leave a noticeable gap in the Northeast, which we should aim to fill.
“We should also look at the stadiums and convention centers in big markets as they have historically been great venues to host races such as Toronto and Long Beach. I think we also need to consider investment in venues. Las Vegas, by example, was a significant investment by Formula 1 that has led to a significant uplift in television and sponsorship contracts. So, we need to look at investments that have direct and indirect payback.
“Understandably, there has been a lot of reaction to NASCAR’s new multi-year deal to race in Mexico City from 2025 onwards, and we’ve seen the huge response from the local fans, who will give a hero’s welcome to Daniel Suárez. It’s clear to all that Pato O’Ward has a huge following there, and the return of IndyCar to Mexico would also be a tremendous success.
“There has been talk about adding international races and it’s not a subject we should shy away from. While we’ve had events at Motegi in Japan and Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast for many years, I think we would be much better served by focusing on more events in large markets closer to the U.S. to enhance our foray into Canada. In the past, the races we’ve run in Mexico and in Brazil were extremely popular with fans as they also love IndyCar racing, so when we talk about international expansion, my preference would be to remain within the continents of North and South America. I think we will see more growth in major markets closer to home so let’s focus on the Americas and not get distracted. Focusing on these regions makes much better strategic sense, building on our established fan base.
“Non-championship races are a distraction we could do without. With no championship points at stake, these events are merely exhibitions rather than bona fide competitions and really only serve to dilute the competitive nature of the series. We should also eliminate doubleheader weekends as these back-to-back races don’t add much value, reduce the exposure the series has in a 17-race season and don’t add a lot for the fans who are onsite compared to the action they’re already experiencing in a standard one-race weekend.”
Brown would like to see changes to how IndyCar structures and administers its race weekends.
“The cadence of practice sessions heading into a race weekend also needs some revision,” he said. “Having only one practice on Fridays of street and road courses is inefficient for teams and limits the opportunity to gather critical data and further refine their setups. Ensuring a higher level of preparation will ultimately elevate the quality of competition and the overall fan experience.
“While I truly believe IndyCar is some of the most exciting racing in motorsport, we saw a few races this season where fuel-saving racing removes the thrill of how different strategies play out. Whether it’s a smaller fuel tank capacity for street courses or higher degradation on tires, there are a few ways to address this to ensure the racing stays as exciting as it’s always been in this series. Tire allocation through a weekend should also be considered. There is a better way to balance opportunity for tire strategy with used and slicks on race day than all but forcing teams to sit parked for half a practice session to save new tires for a race.”