Zak Brown calls out Red Bull for risking 'the integrity of sporting fairness'

Zak Brown has made his latest impassioned plea against A/B teams and co-ownership models in F1, highlighting numerous instances of problematic situations that have arisen in recent memory.

The McLaren Racing CEO has long advocated for the FIA to move away from allowing it within the championship, with Red Bull's ownership of a second team, now Racing Bulls, the most prominent example.

The issue has been brought back to the fore in recent weeks, with the Woking-based squad having to wait until potentially as long as 2028 to get its hands on new chief racing officer Gianpiero Lambiase, who moves from the Milton Keynes outfit where he has served as Max Verstappen's engineer for the past decade.

To remedy the recent mass exodus of key names, Red Bull has poached Andrea Landi from its sister team, with the new head of performance — as part of a restructured leadership team — joining in just two months, at the start of July.

In light of that development, Brown was asked for his current stance on the situation, to which he told media, including RacingNews365, that "it hasn't changed at all, I think I've been consistent" in his 10 years at McLaren.

"I think A/B teams, we need to get away from as much as possible, as quickly as possible," the American said. "I think co-ownership, which we have of one group now — and I understand how that came about and why it came about — but today's day and age, that's permitted in almost, if not all, major forms of sport."

Red Bull GmbH, the parent company behind the F1 teams and a wider sporting network, has owned two outfits since 2005, at the end of Red Bull Racing's first season in the championship, having purchased the Minardi team ahead of the following season.

"I think it runs a real high risk of compromising the integrity of sporting fairness, which comes back to the earlier question, what would turn fans off, is if they don't feel like there are 11 independent racing teams," Brown added, making reference to being questioned on whether the new F1 regulations risk alienating fans.

"I've been vocal about it from day one; we've seen it play out on track in a sporting way; Daniel Ricciardo taking the fastest lap point away from us to help the other team [in Singapore in 2024].

"We've seen IP violations on the Aston Martin/Racing Point on break ducts, we've seen employees move overnight, where we either have to wait and sometimes make financial deals, which then impacts us on the cost cap.

"So when you see other teams that move from one to the other, and then also without financial compensation, that's an unfair financial advantage, that's an unfair sporting advantage.

"We've seen Ferrari and Haas move people back and forth, and we know IP is a lot in your head, so when you put that all together..."

The football example

Brown likened the situation in F1 to football, pointing out the obvious conflict of interest apparent if two teams owned by the same group were to play one another.

"Can you imagine a Premier League game and you've got two teams owned by the same group, one's going to get relegated if they lose, the other can afford to lose, and that's what we run the risk of," the 54-year-old said.

It is a pertinent example, given Red Bull's extensive footballing empire, even though most domestic leagues and continental competitions have safeguards in place to prevent multi-team ownership.

For example, Crystal Palace being barred from competing in this season's Europa League — and demoted to the Conference League — due to its owners also having a stake in French club Lyon, who had qualified for the same tournament, at the time.

It is a model that has seen players and even managers easily and cheaply move between clubs owned by the same parent company, a problem not specific to Red Bull GmbH.

"So I think having power unit suppliers is as far as it should go," Brown added. "And then, in my view, all 11 teams should be absolutely as independent as possible, because I think it has a high risk, and we have seen it compromise the integrity of the sport, and that will be what turns fans off quicker than anything else."

The second part of this story will be published later.