Zak Brown doubles down on FIA demand after Red Bull complaint

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has doubled down on his demand for the FIA to introduce tighter rules to reduce alliances between Formula 1 teams and make each outfit more independent.

Last month, Brown wrote to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, voicing his criticism of dual ownership and using Red Bull's ownership of Racing Bulls as an example.

In his initial letter, the 54-year-old highlighted specific incidents that he believes damaged the integrity of the sport, such as the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Brown cited the example of Daniel Ricciardo, who raced for Red Bull's sister team at the time, setting the fastest lap and taking the bonus point away from Lando Norris, thereby supporting Max Verstappen's title pursuit that season.

He cited several other examples, all of which involved Red Bull and Racing Bulls. Ahead of this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, a second letter has been issued.

In a letter to McLaren's fans, Brown again called for greater independence between F1 teams and expressed confidence that the matter will be resolved.

In an open letter to McLaren's fans, Brown wrote: "We do have one issue I’d like to address though, which I’m sure you’ve read about. Until not so long ago, for some teams to survive in our sport they had to rely on alliances and buy technology from each other, and that served its purpose at the time. 

"But now that the sport is in tremendous health and we have great financial stability amongst the race teams, it is time to move to a state of true independence between teams.

"Other than when it comes to power units – which not everyone manufactures – teams should operate entirely independently to ensure total fairness. When it comes to technical, financial or governance related matters, alliances have the potential to cloud things. 

"And at the end of the day, I think you, our fans, want to know that all 22 drivers are fighting each other equally as hard, and that the same rules apply to all 11 teams. 

"Liberty and the FIA have done an outstanding job to grow our sport, we are thriving, so I am confident that this is an area we will now focus on and resolve."