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McLaren’s Zak Brown Urges FIA to Ban F1 Multi-Team Ownership

The move pressures the FIA to clarify rules on team ties to protect competitive integrity.

Overview

  • Brown, who sent a six-page letter Thursday, asked FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to block new team alliances and to phase out existing ones.
  • He cited on-track moments he says harmed fairness, including Daniel Ricciardo taking fastest lap at Singapore 2024 to strip Lando Norris of a point and Liam Lawson yielding to Max Verstappen in Miami this season.
  • Brown argued that shared wind tunnels and software can boost commonly owned teams in ways independents cannot match.
  • He also pointed to uneven staff-move rules, noting Laurent Mekies’ rapid switch from Racing Bulls to Red Bull versus McLaren’s nine-month wait and payout for Rob Marshall.
  • The FIA chief has said owning two teams is not the right path and that a review is under way, as reports of a possible Mercedes minority stake in Alpine renew scrutiny and McLaren prepares regulatory proposals for talks.