Zak Brown will be furious when he hears what Red Bull and Racing Bulls are ‘constantly’ doing behind the scenes

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Racing Bulls scored their first podium since 2021 at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend. Isack Hadjar’s third-place finish was one of the most memorable moments in their history.

They were still known as AlphaTauri when Pierre Gasly finished third at the 2021 Azerbaijan GP, the last time they sprayed the champagne. It’s only their sixth podium in any guise.

With 60 points on the board already, they can dream of catching Williams (80) for P5 in the final nine races. That would be the best showing in their history, and would put them just one place behind sister team Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso thinks Max Verstappen would win the title in the Racing Bulls car, reflecting the paddock consensus that the VCARB02 has far smoother handling than the RB21. Indeed, both Hadjar and Liam Lawson have outscored Verstappen’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the standings.

Red Bull are ‘constantly’ calling up staff from Racing Bulls

According to a report from The Limburger, Red Bull engineers have been ‘racking their brains’ for months trying to work out why their smaller counterparts have potentially built a better car. Without a driver like Verstappen, the two teams could be battling it out in the midfield.

This is damning for Red Bull given the disparity in resources – they have around 1,000 staff compared to 500 for Racing Bulls. They ‘can’t fathom’ the relative performance.

• READ MORE: Red Bull might have finally addressed Zak Brown ‘concern’ after Max Verstappen frustration at the Hungarian GP

In an attempt to address the issue, Red Bull are ‘constantly’ picking up the ‘most talented’ personnel from Racing Bulls. Both teams are located on the same Milton Keynes campus.

Team principal Laurent Mekies was selected as the replacement for Christian Horner in July. And it seems that numerous engineering minds are following him behind the scenes.

What has Zak Brown said about Red Bull’s relationship with Racing Bulls?

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been an outspoken critic of the Red Bull/Racing Bulls structure. Speaking to Sky Sports last year, he called ‘the A-B team structure’ a ‘real problem’ that ‘compromises the integrity’ of F1.

The Race have already revealed that the FIA will introduce stricter rules surrounding the matter in 2026. Both teams have always insisted that they operate independently.

However, Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer says he’s ‘powerless’ to stop Red Bull signing Hadjar for next year. The Frenchman’s contract gives the 14-time champions control over his future.

Red Bull dipped outside their own talent pool to sign Sergio Perez in 2021. But after Perez lost his seat in December, Hadjar could become the third driver promoted from Alan Permane’s team in the space of 12 months.