"Most other major sports prohibit the ownership of two teams": McLaren boss Zak Brown takes a subtle dig at Red Bull having two teams on the F1 grid

Zak Brown (L) and Yuki Tsunoda with Christian Horner (R) (Collage via Sportskeeda)
Zak Brown (L) and Yuki Tsunoda with Christian Horner (R) (Collage via Sportskeeda)

McLaren boss Zak Brown recently took a subtle dig at Red Bull for having two different teams on the grid. The Austrian-British outfit has a sister team named AlphaTauri, with whom they are strongly connected.

Red Bull's seniors can easily control who works on that team, promote and demote drivers, and even exchange information and share parts with them. Even though the senior team claims that AlphaTauri operates separately, they can alter a lot of decisions.

In an open letter on mclaren.com, the McLaren CEO wrote about the fairness of competition in Formula 1 and indirectly stated how other sports do not allow ownership of two teams within the same league, something that Red Bull has in the top single-seater racing series.

"Most other major sports prohibit the ownership of two teams within the same league because of the obvious potential damage that it does to competition. It’s an unhealthy situation because it impacts decisions made both on and off the track. Whether it’s a case of having access to more data, sharing components/personnel, or even having influence over a strategic vote, it’s not in the spirit of the regulations," wrote Zak Brown.

Brown further added that he would like to see changes made in the regulation that prohibit both teams from benefiting from one another in any way.

"It’s important to stand up for independence, competition and fairness, and I’d like to see changes in the regulations to ensure that in future, they stop influence spreading from one team to another through strategic alliances and especially through ownership. Formula 1 should be true to its brand, and every team - except Power Units - should be totally independent of each other," he wrote.

AlphaTauri will use Red Bull RB19's front suspension in their 2024 F1 car

AlphaTauri CEO Peter Bayer recently claimed that his team's 2024 F1 car will use the Red Bull RB19's front suspension and their own car's rear suspension. Furthermore, he stated that AlphaTauri has the opportunity to do so since the regulations allow such exchanges of parts.

Speaking to motorsporttotal.com, he said:

“Next year, we will continue with our current rear and use the Red Bull front suspension from their current car at the front. There have been years when we have done something different for various reasons. But we have the opportunity to do it, and the regulations allow it, so we will do it, like a number of other teams."

AlphaTauri is undergoing massive changes that include a new team principal after 18 years and a completely new brand name.

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