'Concerned' Zak Brown calls for Roger Penske to take accountability for Indy 500 controversy

McLaren Boss Zak Brown called out Team Penske for the 2025 Indy 500 controversy, which first led to the withdrawal of the #2 and #12 cars, followed by fines and penalties for the entries. Brown shared his concerns and asked the team owner, Roger Penske, to take accountability for the actions.

Team Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power were found in violation of the IndyCar technical rules, specifically rule 14.7.8.16, as the team made modifications to the rear end of the car that were not allowed. When the technical infringement was found and reported to Team Penske, they withdrew the cars from the Top 12 qualifying.

A day later, IndyCar sent the two cars to the back of the grid, along with $100,000 fines for each entry. Many drivers and team bosses shared their concerns about the infringement, including Zak Brown.

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The McLaren CEO shared how it was the second consecutive year that Team Penske was found in breach of the technical regulations and shared his concerns, as he said:

“I’m very concerned, as are my fellow team owners, to find that Team Penske has been found with a multi-car major technical infringement for the second time in two seasons.

“In racing you can sometimes have mechanics who make miscalculations and you can sometimes have manufacturing issues that can all lead to honest mistakes. I don’t believe that’s what happened here or last year, which raises questions over the integrity of the decision-making within that team,” added Zak Brown.

Last year, Team Penske was found guilty in the push to pass scandal, where a modification to the car allowed their drivers to use the P2P on restarts, which was otherwise not allowed by the regulations. The drivers were disqualified from the race and deducted points for the same.

Zak Brown’s driver ‘shames’ Team Penske following the Indy 500 controversy

Zak Brown's team, Arrow McLaren's IndyCar star Pato O'Ward, was among the first few to make comments about the Team Penske controversy. After the Sunday qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Mexican driver came out and slammed Team Penske during the press conference.

O'Ward explained how the two entries should've been sent to the last chance qualifiers, and not just allowed to withdraw from Top 12 qualifying and start in Row 4. Pato O'Ward added:

“They should have been disqualified yesterday so it's a shame really cause I don't think they don't need to be doing that stuff like they're a great team. You know they did have great drivers. You know why are you doing? That makes no sense.”

Josef Newgarden and Will Power's entries were eventually sent to the back of the grid; however, that raises the question about Jacob Abel, who was eliminated in the last chance qualifiers.