'F1 teams open attack on Red Bull, demand rule changes'

On the Friday of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, the F1 Commission met, with the headline announcements being those around the format for Sprint races in 2024, and the scrapping of the ban for tyre blankets in 2025.

The Commission meets regularly to discuss rule changes, which then go to the World Motor Sport Council to be formally ratified and added to the Sporting or Techincal Regulations.

What the press release did not mention however was dissatisfaction and concern among the other teams of the increased cooperation between Red Bull and AlphaTauri, German publication Motorsport Magazin reported.

Increased synergy

During the Franz Tost era at Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri, the team has been firm in maintaining its independence from Red Bull in terms of taking permitted parts, in the same way that Haas does with Ferrari.

However, new CEO Peter Bayer is firm that the team will change direction and take as many 'Transferable Components (TRC) as possible. These used to be known as 'non-listed' parts, and include parts of the car such as suspension, the rear crash structure and gearboxes.

AlphaTauri has already begun this process of adopting Red Bull's TRCs, but the increase in performance since the United States upgrade has made other teams suspicious.

Haas and Ferrari have a series of checks and balances to ensure they follow the rules correctly, with the FIA being kept in the loop of that partnership, as RacingNews365 found out before the 2023 season.

Some teams are keen to find avenues to close off such close collaboration for the incoming 2026 rules, with one such potential solution being a requirement for each team to use its own wind-tunnel facility.

Both Red Bull and AlphaTauri currently use the same facility in the United Kingdom.

There is no suggestion of any rule-breaking by Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

Horner's influence also a problem

Motorsport Magazin also reports that the increased influence of Christian Horner at AlphaTauri is a source for concern - as he is pulling strings at the Faenza-squad.

What is known is that AlphaTauri will be changing names for 2024, what that is remains uncertain at this stage, but the Red Bull clothing brand AlphaTauri moniker will disappear.

Motorsport Magazin writes that Horner has been closely involved in the carving of the new AlphaTauri identity, and linked a marketing agency close to Red Bull with AlphaTauri, while the existing partner exited.

It is believed that the new title sponsor for AlphaTauri in 2024 could potentially be Cash App or VISA.