'I'm very bullish': McLaren boss Zak Brown pushes Supercars to do more with F1
McLaren team principal Zak Brown has pushed for Supercars to continue exploring overseas opportunities to race with Formula 1.
Supercars will play support to the Australian Grand Prix on March 21-24 alongside Formula 2, Formula 3, and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
Since Supercars changed owners, there has been a known push to have the touring car championship expand its presence with F1.
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It was rumoured throughout 2023 that the championship was eyeing a place on the Singapore Grand Prix support card.
The start of the Bathurst 500 at Mount Panorama. Daniel Kalisz/Race Project via Getty Images
As it stands, Supercars hosts 12 events per year with one fly-away visit to New Zealand.
Brown is one of the most high-profile team owners in world motorsport headlined by his team in F1.
Brown also owns an IndyCar team and has a stake in the Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars team and sports car outfit United Autosports.
He is eager to see Supercars spread its wings, albeit not outside the Asia-Pacific region.
"I'm very bullish on Supercars," said Brown on Fox Sports' coverage.
McLaren chief executive officer Zak Brown (left) and Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff. Clive Rose via Getty Images
"I remember when I first came to Australia a decade ago, I didn't quite appreciate how big Supercars was and is as a major form of sport in Australia so that was exciting to see it was mainstream.
"I think the racing is great, I think the cars are cool, I would like to see the calendar expand but in Asia-Pac(ific).
"IndyCar talks about international races and when you think about budgets and fans and how corporations work, it's not usually 'I'm in charge of Australia and North America' it tends to be 'I'm in charge of Australia or Asia-Pac'.
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"I don't think you should go too far from your core audience. I'd love to see (Supercars) in Singapore, Japan with some more grands prix. I know at one point there were conversations around Singapore. I think that would be cool.
"I'd love to see it expand. Maybe follow a few F1 races but stay in Asia-Pac as opposed to venturing out to somewhere very far away because then I think it's harder for our core sponsors that are base here to venture out. Will they have business in North America? Maybe, maybe not. More likely they're in other parts of Asia-Pac."
Supercars has been a fixture at the Albert Grand Prix circuit for two decades. Daniel Kalisz/Race Project via Getty Images
Supercars has raced outside of Australia on just a handful of occasions.
Its first international endeavour outside of Australia and New Zealand saw the championship race in China at the Shanghai International Circuit in 2005.
Supercars spent several years racing in the Middle East, first at the Bahrain International Circuit in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010 and then at the Yas Marina Circuit from 2010 to 2012.
Supercars raced once in the United States at Circuit of the Americas in 2013 on what was supposed to be a multi-year deal.
The Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix was to host Supercars in 2016 but the event collapsed before it could do so.
Supercars raced at Circuit of The Americas in 2013. Getty
Brown said Supercars' inclusion at F1 events is valuable.
"I think it adds a lot to the Formula 1 schedule," he said.
"You've got great support schedules with Formula 3 and Formula 2 and they're really more for bringing drivers along.
"I think the fans, when they look at a single-seater car, Formula 1 captures their attention so to have something that's totally different like Supercars or other forms of racing brings additional entertainment to the fans."
