Brown voices concern over Red Bull-AlphaTauri alliance

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has voiced concern over Red Bull’s alliance with AlphaTauri as they get set to work closer together next season.

AlphaTauri has confirmed that it will buy as many parts from its sister squad as permitted by Formula 1’s regulations.

It is also set to undertake a new identity for next year despite being listed as ‘Scuderia AlphaTauri RB’ in the FIA’s entry list.

But amid its pledge to work closely with Red Bull, Brown has raised questions over the independence of AlphaTauri.

“We have some big concerns over the alliance between AlphaTauri and Red Bull,” Brown told Motorsport.com.

"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.

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

“[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.”

Brown curious over Red Bull development

Red Bull enjoyed a highly dominant campaign that saw it win 21 out of the 22 races en route to double championship success.

While McLaren ended the year in strong fashion after successfully developing its car during the campaign, Red Bull’s ability to switch focus to its 2024 car earlier due to its advantage leaves it as the favourite for the new season.

“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?”