F1 fans are all in agreement over Zak Brown’s letter to the FIA about Mercedes’ Alpine bid

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F1 fans are in total agreement with Zak Brown, after the McLaren CEO wrote the FIA a letter raising concerns about multi-team ownership amid Mercedes’ interest in Alpine.

Brown has written directly to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, urging him to tighten up the F1 regulations to “eliminate” alliances between Formula 1 teams. Currently, Red Bull are in the rare position of owning two F1 teams, but Mercedes are now in talks with Alpine.

McLaren CEO Brown has often voiced his issues with teams controlling more than two cars on the grid. Racing Bulls have been the sister squad to Red Bull since 2006, when Red Bull bought Minardi and renamed them Toro Rosso, but Brown feels times have since changed.

Brown’s issue with the threat of sporting integrity being questioned has again flared up, as Mercedes are rivalling Christian Horner to buy shares in Alpine. A 24% stake in the Enstone outfit is now up for grabs, as Otro Capital is openly exploring selling its shares in the team.

Mercedes reportedly want to buy a 24% stake in Alpine, but should this be allowed?

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F1 fans agree with Zak Brown that the FIA cannot allow multi-team ownership anymore

According to The Race, McLaren CEO Brown told Ben Sulayem in a six-page letter to the FIA that there is “real concern” of F1 losing “integrity and fairness” by continuing to allow team partnerships. He does not directly name Mercedes’ interest in Alpine, but cites other issues.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Among Brown’s concerns include Daniel Ricciardo recording the fastest lap of the race in the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix for Racing Bulls, which denied McLaren’s Lando Norris the one point for setting the fastest lap during his title fight against Red Bull rival, Max Verstappen.

Brown also cites Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls moving aside to let Verstappen through in the 2026 Miami Grand Prix when the Kiwi had been forced off by the Dutchman. Also, he notes how Laurent Mekies did not do any gardening leave before he replaced Horner at Red Bull.

Mekies moved straight over from Racing Bulls to become the new team principal of Red Bull when they sacked Horner in July last year. Now, with Mercedes also showing an interest in a stake in Alpine, many F1 fans reacting on Reddit after Brown’s letter agree with his concerns.

One F1 fan simply noted, “He’s got a point,” while one fan claimed: “All of the teams should be independent. End of.” Given Mercedes chief Toto Wolff’s interest in Alpine, one fan said: “Add, no team principal can own a stake in another team. You know who I’m looking at…”

Another F1 fan also focused on Brown’s concerns regarding sporting integrity. They said: “He’s so right on this. The idea of sister teams makes F1 look like WWE or some meme sport. It’s unacceptable. I can’t think of any other real sport where this is allowed.”

What are your thoughts on Red Bull’s relationship with Racing Bulls?

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One fan also said: “He is right. I’m not the biggest fan of Brown, but having Mercedes own a stake in Alpine would be to the detriment of the sport. I like Red Bull, but I think the correct approach would be to seek the long-term divestment of Racing Bulls by them.”

An fan F1 claimed: “Totally agree. All of the teams should be independent, and not even have racing influence from engine suppliers. For example, an engine supplier trying to influence another team into race actions to help a works team.”

Brown mentioning Mekies’ move to Red Bull in 2025 also saw one fan note: “I didn’t even think about the Mekies angle, but that does show a lot of financial shadiness. The driver swaps, too, really.”

Red Bull have regularly used owning two teams and therefore controlling four drivers, even though Racing Bulls operate as an independent outfit who build their own car, to move the drivers they control around whenever it suits – including Verstappen’s graduation in 2016.

Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix that May, and he won on his debut for the Milton Keynes crew. Red Bull also demoted Lawson back to Racing Bulls in March 2025 after a mere two rounds in a direct seat swap with Yuki Tsunoda.

Alpine are adamant that they will never become a junior Mercedes team if Otro Capital sells its stake to the Silver Arrows. But the idea of Mercedes holding a 24% stake in another team concerns Brown, and F1 fans agree with him that it is now time for the FIA to make changes.