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Zak Brown has put pressure on the FIA to take action against Red Bull’s dual-ownership of the Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls F1 outfits, but the Austrian energy drinks company have a swathe of reasons as to why they shouldn’t.
The McLaren CEO ramped up his efforts to put a stop to Red Bull’s A/B team system by sending a direct letter to Mohammed Ben Sulayem and requesting the FIA President to take action.
Brown’s escalation comes after years of frustrations with the dynamic, with it recently being revisited due to Mercedes’ interest in acquiring shares in the Alpine F1 team.
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His letter to the sport’s governing body also cites some recent examples where Red Bull have benefited from utilising team orders at the midfield Racing Bulls outfit.
Most recently, Liam Lawson was told to let Max Verstappen through after a battle in the opening stages of the Miami GP, with Brown also noting Daniel Ricciardo’s late pit stop at the 2022 Singapore GP to steal the fastest lap away from Lando Norris as another clear example.
However, Red Bull are under the impression that they should be allowed to remain as the owners of two teams on the same grid.
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In a recent report from The Race, F1 journalist Ben Anderson detailed the argument that Milton Keynes have in response to Brown’s defiant letter to the FIA.
He said, “Red Bull’s retort is that F1 would have lost the then Minardi team if Red Bull hadn’t rescued it and created what started life as Toro Rosso 20 years ago.
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“It then propped up two teams through a financial crisis as manufacturers deserted F1 and later through COVID as well.
“So why should it be forced to get rid of its second team when, as far as Red Bull’s concerned, it’s made a massive contribution to F1 by subsidising two teams for two decades, and it’s adamant it’s operating within the rules.”
Red Bull weren’t actually the first team that Minardi approached when they were looking for potential suitors to buy out their Formula 1 entry in the mid-2000s.
During a podcast appearance last year, founder Giancarlo Minardi revealed his discussions with Ferrari over the Scuderia potentially fielding a ‘B-team’ in F1. Ferrari reportedly rejected several offers from Minardi, and so the Toro Rosso was born.
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Red Bull may have to sell Racing Bulls if another manufacturer wants to join F1
Prior to Brown’s letter, Ben Sulayem confirmed that the FIA are ‘looking into’ multi-team ownership in the sport, with the organisation’s President making it clear that he personally opposes the arrangement between Red Bull and Racing Bulls.
While it is unclear what route the FIA would take if it were to force the Austrian drinks company into a sale, it is suggested that Mercedes’ rumoured interest in Alpine would be immediately blocked.
With the extraordinary growth that F1 has experienced in recent years, Red Bull would no doubt be making a huge profit if it were to sell the team.
BYD and Geely have both expressed an interest in the sport in recent months, and with F1 charging an eye-watering sum of money for a brand-new entry, purchasing an existing team could be the perfect route to take.
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