Guenther Steiner believes F1 needs to ‘rethink’ team ownership rules after RB controversy

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There was some controversy at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix when RB called Daniel Ricciardo in for a new set of tyres to attempt the fastest lap.

Race winner Lando Norris held the fastest lap at the time and was on course for a bonus point when Ricciardo pitted and beat it by four-tenths on the final lap of the race.

It turned out to be the last lap of Ricciardo’s career at RB after the team confirmed he would be replaced by Liam Lawson for the remainder of the season, while effectively preventing Norris from coming away with maximum points.

This is critical in the title battle with Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman can now finish in second at every race that Norris wins until the end of the season and still have more points to win the title.

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Suspicions were raised over whether the senior team told RB to pit Ricciardo, but it emerged that sources within Red Bull were thinking of doing the same with Sergio Perez before the Australian made his stop.

The episode has renewed talks over whether one entity should own multiple teams in F1, as has been the case with Red Bull and RB since they joined the grid in 2005. Guenther Steiner believes there should be a solution in place for the next commercial agreement when speaking on the Champ1 podcast.

Guenther Steiner suggests ‘rethink’ over future of RB and Red Bull

Red Bull entered F1 at a time when grid numbers were down to just 18 cars, with the addition of Toro Rosso (now RB) boosting it to 20 cars.

Steiner believes there needs to be a rethink over team ownership rules in F1, given they have moved on from what they were 18 years ago when Red Bull entered the championship.

“It’s time to rethink and in the future, we have to find a solution to so the situation won’t happen again. We have to make sure there isn’t one owner with two teams. If there are only ten teams and one has two that’s 20%,” said Steiner.

“You also have to show gratitude to F1 for what they are doing but I think it won’t work in the next commerical agreement. You shouldn’t put pressure on Red Bull to sell Visa CashApp RB, but when the next agreement comes in 2031 they should try to find an agreement so it doesn’t own both otherwise these problems will continue.”

RB previously faced criticism from Zak Brown

McLaren’s Zak Brown has already highlighted how Red Bull and RB sharing the same resources could become a potential issue, given all teams now operate under a budget cap.

RB team CEO Peter Bayer has previously hit back at the criticisms he faced from Brown, believing they were being seen more as a threat to McLaren and their title ambitions.

The events at Singapore could see a change to the rule that means the fastest lap is only awarded to cars inside the top 10 eligible for points.