McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown calls for INTERVENTION over Red Bull controversy

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 team boss calls for INTERVENTION over Red Bull controversy

Zak Brown has called on the FIA to intervene over the close technical relationship between Red Bull and VCARB

GPFans Staff

Monday 19 February 2024 09:13 Updated: 21:19

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called on the FIA to intervene over Red Bull's continued ownership of two Formula 1 teams.

Since 2006, Red Bull has owned two F1 teams, with the main team, Red Bull Racing, being joined by the recently renamed Visa Cash App RB outfit based in Faenza, near Bologna, Italy.

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VCARB, which entered F1 under the moniker of Toro Rosso before being renamed to AlphaTauri in 2020, was created to give Red Bull junior drivers a chance to learn and compete in grand prix racing.

The VCARB 01 has already proven to be controversial before even completing a race

Those promoted from the junior team to Red Bull include Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon and current world champion Max Verstappen.

Brown Red Bull concerns

But recently, concerns have been raised over Red Bull’s ownership of two teams, not least due to Red Bull's desire to bring RB technically closer to the main team.

The lineup for RB in 2024 includes two experienced drivers, with Daniel Ricciardo retaining his seat at the team alongside Yuki Tsunoda entering his fourth season of F1.

RB and Red Bull will also have a robust technical synergy for 2024, with the team gaining parts from Red Bull’s dominating RB19, including the pull-rod suspension for the front of the car.

One of the key critics of the closer RB-Red Bull synergy is Brown, who questions whether having two teams suits the sport’s desire to have a level playing field.

Brown has been openly critical of Red Bull's two team ownership system

“I’m speaking in the wider interest of the sport,” Brown explained to Sky Sports F1. “If you look at every other major sport. I’d even go further, there’s A-B team relationships. When they started 15 years ago, it was because there were big gaps between the top teams and the bottom teams.

“Now that there’s this great budget cap in place, all teams are pretty much running at the cap. It’s an equal playing field. I can tell you from sitting in the FIA-F1 Commission meetings the voting is always the same when, in theory it shouldn’t be in one of the team’s best interests.

“We’ve seen it on track, some collaborations going on. Technically, they’ve been very forthright in saying, ‘We’re going to take the suspension, etc'.

“The definition of a Constructor is someone who develops their own intellectual property. I think the sport has moved onto an equal playing field.

“To have A-B relationships and co-ownerships of two teams on a level playing field, it's not what the fans expect. The FIA really need to do something about it.”

Red Bull FIA Formula 1 Zak Brown AlphaTauri VCARB