Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren, is not satisfied with Christian Horner’s efforts and has “big concerns” about Red Bull’s ownership of two Formula 1 teams.
Naturally, Red Bull Racing, which dominated the grid this year, is the energy drink’s main team. However, the business also controls the soon-to-be renamed AlphaTauri team, which has historically been utilized to develop their young, gifted drivers for Formula One.
The teams intend to collaborate even more closely in the future. As much as the rules permit, the 2024 AlphaTauri car will mimic the Red Bull car, and there are rumors that team principal Horner might take on a more prominent position in both teams.
The 50-year-old has brushed off the idea that there may be any unethical behavior going on behind the scenes. “There are some transferable components which are clearly listed within the regulations you’re allowed to supply and that’s what they get,” he previously stated about the scenario.
“There are some very obvious distinctions between that car and a Red Bull Racing car when you look at it. Furthermore, it may be argued that there are other vehicles on the road that conceptually are significantly closer to the RB19 than AlphaTauri. All you have to do is glance at an Aston Martin or a McLaren. If you examine a McLaren’s rear suspension, you’ll find that its design is remarkably similar to ours.
Of course, we can supply some parts. For example, Mercedes and Ferrari currently supply gearboxes, suspensions, simulation tools, and wind tunnel utilization to Grand Prix teams. There is the same relationship between the corporations, so naturally, it is up to them the manner in which they employ those instruments.”
Additionally, nothing suspicious has been found by the FIA in its routine compliance audits. However, CEO of McLaren Brown is not persuaded and believes that common ownership should never be permitted.
“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,” he said to Motorsport.com. In order to ensure that everyone is genuinely independent, I believe that the sport still has a ways to go.
“Unlike in other sports, there is joint ownership between the two teams. There are numerous ways in which Red Bull could gain from it. They are shifting a large number of their personnel from Italy [AlphaTauri’s existing location in Faenza] for a reason.
“They will do every effort to capitalize on having two teams, as Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut [Marko] has stated. Since the guidelines state as much, I understand that. However, I believe that the administration of the sport in relation to technical partnerships needs to be examined.
