Ex-Red Bull driver issues response to Zak Brown's F1 team independence argument

Former Red Bull F1 driver David Coulthard has issued a response to McLaren CEO Zak Brown's push for teams to be independent, having taken specific aim at the Austrian outfit.

Brown wrote a letter to the FIA earlier this year calling for stricter rules on multi-team ownership models, arguing that it compromises sporting integrity and should be phased out.

In his letter, the McLaren boss included multiple examples of Red Bull and its sister team Racing Bulls helping each other.

The 54-year-old effectively wants to see the two outfits split, although Coulthard believes it should be remembered how much good Red Bull has done for Racing Bulls.

Since purchasing Minardi and turning it into a Red Bull sister operation, the team has gone from being a comfortable backmarker to a regular points scorer and a consistent presence in the final part of qualifying.

Asked if Racing Bulls could ever not be owned by Red Bull, Coulthard told the Up to Speed podcast: "Yeah, well, look, those are definitely the sort of comments we've heard publicly from Zak Brown at McLaren. 

"I think Toto may also have referred to independence and the importance of teams being independent, so there's clearly a sort of momentum building towards that.

"But I don't believe there's been an official directive on it, and nothing has been announced. So, from a Red Bull point of view, they have, for a long time, owned two Formula 1 teams and a Formula 1 circuit.

"If you look at that, they've helped what was a small midfield team become a viable top-10 team. They were never that when Red Bull bought into them."

Red Bull major profit guaranteed

Red Bull has used its sister team as a pathway for young talent, with several drivers within its junior system, such as Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, having broken into F1 through it.

Should it reach a point where the Austrian organisation is forced to sell, it would at least make a staggering profit based on the value of F1 teams today compared to 20 years ago.

"So I think, if you look at snapshots in time... If you actually look at the bigger picture, they've invested, and if they ever have to sell, with the work that Formula 1, Liberty and everyone else has done, they're going to see a sizeable return on their investment," Coulthard added.

"Teams have gone from being valued at what Williams sold for — less than $200 million — to probably being worth $3 billion now, or whatever number you want to dream up."