McLaren boss expresses 'big concerns' over McLaren rivals' alliance

Zak Brown, McLaren — Photo: © LAT Images

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McLaren boss expresses 'big concerns' over rival alliance

The McLaren team principal is concerned by how much his rivals may gain from their ownership

Tyler Rowlinson

Tuesday 19 December 2023 15:57

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McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown has said that he has ‘big concerns’ over the alliance between Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

Red Bull entered the sport in 2005 after the buying the Jaguar F1 team and by the end of that year, the company had bought Minardi and formed a second ‘junior’ team known as Toro Rosso, now known today as AlphaTauri.

The concerns stem from AlphaTauri climbing from last to eighth in the constructors’ championship during 2023, after the team brought in aggressive upgrades, giving them major gains in low-speed corners.

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While Red Bull did not significantly update their car after August, some rivals have taken issue with how much AlphaTauri has improved and how it may also benefit the senior team through the sharing of resources.

AlphaTauri benefitted from new upgrades at the end of the 2023 season

Fears are growing that Red Bull may also gain from their sister team's updates

Brown: Independence is important

While Red Bull boss Christian Horner has stated that no rules have been broken, Brown admitted that he still has ‘big concerns’ over the alliance.

Speaking with Autosport, he said: “The million-dollar question that none of us know is how early did they [Red Bull] turn off this year’s car?

“We know we’ve outperformed the others in the development race, and we know we’ve closed the gap to Red Bull but what none of us know is: did Red Bull stop, and we just caught up, or were they still developing?

“Also, we have some big concerns over the alliance between AlphaTauri and Red Bull. I think that is something that needs to be addressed in the future.

“So, I still think the sport has a way to go to make sure that everyone is truly independent.”

McLaren boss Zak Brown believes F1 teams need to move towards being completely independent

Teams are able to form technical alliances to buy components such as gearbox, suspension and hydraulics, but fears are growing that Red Bull have overstepped the mark, with more being fuelled from AlphaTauri moving personnel from Faenza to the UK to consolidate around its aerodynamics facility in Bicester in order to save money.

“It is two teams with common ownership, which you wouldn’t have in other sports,” Brown continued.

“[It could benefit Red Bull in] a lot of different ways. There is a reason why they are moving a lot of their people from Italy.

“As Helmut [Marko] has said, they are going to do absolutely everything they can to benefit from having two teams.

“I get that because that’s what the rules say. But I think we need to look at the governance of the sport around technical alliances.”