McLaren ready to sign new Concorde agreement imminently

[July 17, 2020]  By Alan Baldwin

(Reuters) - McLaren are committed to Formula One and ready to sign imminently a new 'Concorde Agreement' for the sport's future, team chief executive Zak Brown said on Friday.

The current commercial agreement, setting out the terms under which teams race and the share of revenues, expires at the end of 2020 and the new one will run to 2026.

It is named after the 1981 original that was negotiated at the Paris headquarters of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in the Place de la Concorde.

"The new Concorde Agreement complements the financial, technical and sporting regulations and secures a strong basis for the sustainability, growth and success of Formula One and all its stakeholders," said Brown.

"(Commercial rights holders) Liberty Media, F1 and the FIA, together with the teams, have worked diligently to protect the sport through the COVID-19 crisis, our return to racing and into the long term," added the American.

"McLaren Racing is fully committed to Formula One and we are ready to sign this new agreement imminently."

McLaren could be the first team to sign up for the new deal.

The 2020 season started in Austria this month after the original opener in Australia in March was cancelled due to the pandemic.

 McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

Formula One chairman Chase Carey said in May that negotiations over a new Concorde Agreement were on the back burner due to a crisis that has hit the teams and sport financially.

Major rule changes due next year have been postponed to 2022 but a $145 million budget cap will come in next season.

Formula One wants to create a more level playing field to improve competition, reduce costs and provide a fairer distribution of revenues.

"With everything we are seeing what's on the table there, together with a clear vision of where the sporting, technical and financial regulations are going to, we are very happy," McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl told reporters.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)

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