Brown Reiterates Scepticism Over Red Bull - AlphaTauri Relationship

Thursday, 18 January 2024 at 05:00

Zak Brown in McLaren team clothes, wearing a headset on the McLaren pit wall with a blurry background.

The CEO of Red Bull Racing voiced his concerns over the Red Bull - AlphTauri relationship again after his team's recent 2024 car livery launch.

AlphaTauri used to be considered a "B team" or the "junior team" of Red Bull Racing. However, the team is stepping up in 2024 and rebranding itself as a "sister team" of Red Bull with ambitions of competing for higher positions in the Championship.

That by itself is no issue. On the other hand, what Zak Brown believes to be an issue is the fact that both teams are 100% owned and operated by the same company - Red Bull GmbH.

The CEO of McLaren has expressed his concerns already twice before. The first time in an interview with motorsport.com and the second time in a letter published on McLaren's website. This time, he said:

"I believe it’s a serious issue for the fairness of the sport, for the fans. That’s why it’s pretty much not allowed in any other form of major sport. AlphaTauri is, from what I understand, moving to the UK, which I think will benefit both teams."

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While Brown hasn't directly accused Red Bull and AlphaTauri of anything, what he is trying to say is that with relationships like these two teams have, there is a lot of space for cheating and gaining unfair advantage.

"So this A/B team and co-ownership, which is a whole other level of A/B team, is a big concern to ours for the health of the sport, and the fairness of the sport."

Whether or not the two teams owned by Red Bull are doing anything against the rules, McLaren's CEO believes this issue needs to be tackled as soon as possible.